Taskmaster #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jed MacKay
Art: Alessandro Vitti
Colors: Guru-eFX
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Valerio Giangiordano & Arif Prianto
This is a pretty wild issue that kicks off with a murder which might not seem as crazy considering this is a series that spotlights Taskmaster. One of Marvel’s high level assassins that is at the top of his game but at the moment he might not be responsible for the particular body that was found. Now he’s being hunted by another deadly assassin but he’s getting some help from a very unlikely source.
Now your affinity for this issue will come down to whatever version of Taskmaster you prefer. Some might like the straight up no-nonsense killer and others might lean more towards the guy who’s good for a few laughs in-between kills. This issue definitely hits on the latter but MacKay balances the humor and action so well that it serves both preferences. He also maintains that even with the jokes that Taskmaster should be taken seriously along with the plot. For the readers who may not be too familiar with the character he lays out the basics quite well as his particular set of skills will come in perfectly handy for what he has to accomplish.
Alessandro Vitti’s visuals and Guru’s colors deliver a solid looking issue from start to finish. Vitti also display’s Taskmaster’s abilities with a quick flash of the character being copied aside from having him just physically copy the action. It’s a great way to blend the two and helps give the mimicry a bit of visual punch. The chase sequence is one of the strongest parts of the book and Vitti keeps the narrative moving by nailing the expressions through Taskmaster’s mask. Something that probably shouldn’t be happening but this is comics and that’s part of the beauty of this medium! But when Taskmaster finds out who is after him it’s a great series of panels that really show the amount of dread he’s feeling now.
Overall, Taskmaster is off to a fun start with a premise that definitely makes you wonder how all of this is going to play out. So if you’re looking for something outside of mutant events and huge cosmic battles give this one a shot. 3/5
Pingback: Around the Tubes | Graphic Policy
Pingback: Around the Tubes | The Spinner Rack
This was not what I expected since I though we’d get something a bit more serious here since we’re dealing with assassins. It’s like the movies where we have to get jokes every other line of dialogue. What’s wrong with a serious darker toned story about assassins??