Broken Pieces #5
Publisher: Aspen
Writer: Mark Roslan
Artist: Cory Smith
Colors: Beth Sotelo
Holy crap, Batman! What you will read in these pages is nothing short of an emotional roller coaster. Without revealing too much, this final issue covers everything that has led up to this point. Richard in a final showdown with the thugs at Trinion, a bitter betrayal, death, and everything in between! No joke, no B.S., definitely no filler or useless panels. Gabriella and Richard are also shown in a flashback talking about starting a family one day, and that adds a nice touch amidst all the action and drama.
Not enough positive words can be said about this series. Roslan definitely saved his best for last, but overall, this series should be in all the year end “best of” columns. It stacks up against the big boys, no problem. Any time a writer can get you emotionally involved with the characters, it’s a rare thing indeed. This book did, though, and again, did it while not only showing you an emotional side, but with big guns, guts flying, science out the wazoo, and a fresh take on the future of the world. The series did have a bit of a lobbyist feel to it, but that was an underlying feeling and was overshadowed by the action and drama.
The artwork was the same in this issue as before. Solid stuff by Smith and Sotelo. One of the best panels in this issue was when Richard was in the passenger seat of a truck, and his body is deteriorating. Without warning, his arm falls off and onto the side of the road! It looked fantastic! A few bloody panels in a lab and on the battlefield were also quite good, and worth noting. The covers have also been a plus for this series. Different names like Smith and Steigerwald have been behind most of them, but either way, they were all good. Variant covers don’t always help, but in this case they did. From the first issue until the last, Broken Pieces was a success that everyone should be aware of. Whether you can grab it digitally, in trade, or singles, do yourself a favor and pick up this series! Rating 4.5/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
