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Heroes For Hire #3
Publisher: Marvel
Writer(s): Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Brad Walker
Cover: Doug Braithwaite & Rob Schwager

“Trace Elements”: If you were wondering how long it would take for Misty Knight’s ex-boyfriend, the Iron Fist, to show up, then wait no longer! While Paladin is following up on his discovery from last issue, he ends up going toe to toe with Fist who wants to know why he’s being spied on by the mercenary. Paladin attempts to explain that there’s something wrong with Misty, but Danny is too busy being the stubborn ex to listen. This is going on while another hero that Misty has in play has made a discovery during a mission that forces him to take further action than Misty would like.

This third issue slows things down a bit as Abnett and Lanning have Paladin play detective for most of the story, since certain info about his new “partner” isn’t adding up. It was interesting that Abnett and Lanning show Paladin actually caring, or as much as a mercenary like him can care, about Misty. He’s usually depicted as a guy who will switch sides in the middle of the mission and leave his team hanging if the price is right. So this deviation from the norm is a bit refreshing to see, though I’m sure most of it comes from Paladin just trying to watch his own back.

Walker and Hennessy are still delivering outstanding looking pages in Heroes For Hire to compliment the story and keep you entertained. I know the series is only three issues in, but you’d be surprised at how many titles start to slack after the debut issue when it comes to the quality. It’s great that this isn’t one of those books and I’m hoping this level of work is maintained well into the series. The fight scenes between Iron Fist and Paladin were some of my favorites, as Walker chose to show them without the usual panel structure, but let the figures themselves define the boundaries of the scene. Another small but cool thing was the more realistic drawing of Iron Fist’s mask, as it’s usually smooth and looks more like a helmet. Whereas here you can tell it’s a piece of cloth tied around his head and the hair is causing it to look uneven in places and is even showing from the bottom. This might seem a trifle addition to some, but it enhances the overall appearance of the character.

As Dan and Andy take us a bit deeper into the plot, it’s going to be interesting to see how things will develop and what is the true motive of the villain behind this new Heroes For Hire operation. If you have yet to start reading this series, don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil anything for you, but definitely get started now and see how Abnett and Lanning have brought new life to this title.

Till next time!

Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net