Throwback Thursday: Deathstroke #1 Review

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Written by: Kyle Higgins
Art by: Joe Bennett
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: September 14, 2011

Fot this Throwback Thursday, I thought I'd throw a couple of Deathstroke reviews your way.  This was the review I did from the #1 issue of the New 52 for a segment we used to call "The Lost Boys" reviews.  Yea, we have used the Lost Boys for a bunch of things over the years, but hey, it is awesome!  Here is the review...

I'm back with another Lost Boys article where I go back and review an older and/or canceled New 52 title to see if it was any good.  This week I present Deathstroke #1.  This book piqued my interest for one major reason...it was written by Kyle Higgins.  I bet you thought I was going to say something about Slade Wilson, but actually I was never a big fan.  However, I am a huge fan of Higgins so this one is a no-brainer, but is it any good?

Kyle Higgins wants you to know one thing and one thing only...Deathstroke is a badass.  Looking for some cerebral thought provoking inner monologues?  Keep moving, nothing to see here.  Craving over-the-top action with dual wielding goodness by an anti-hero who would sooner slice your head off than shake your hand?  Welcome home.  Higgins takes two pages to get you up to speed on Deathstroke as a character (hint: he's a badass).

Deathstroke hasn't gone soft.  He's just gotten old.  There are those that think he can't hack it alone, so his latest job forces him to team up with some annoying teens who call themselves the Alpha Dawgs and/or Harmory (they can't decide on which).  The job involves a skyjacking/kidnapping/heist/blow everything to smithereens.  It's pretty awesome, especially Slade's free fall jump, sword in hand entrance.  However, Deathstroke doesn't like partners.

As often happens with these things, the job isn't what it seemed.  Slade gets something different than what he came for, but still blows up the plane for old times sake.  Then he returns to his teen aged partners and straight up murders them.  Bullets through the head kind of murder.  No coming back from that.  It's a bit jarring, but it fits the character.  His name is Deathstroke and he doesn't like partners.

If anyone was afraid that DC wanted a softer Deathstroke for the New 52, they weren't afraid after reading this.  In  fact, I think the point was stressed a bit too much.  I enjoyed the action, but I wish it had been a little more fun. I think the teenage team would have played well against Deathstroke, but instead they ended up dying all over the place.  They tried it again when Deathstroke was in the Green Team and I think it could work in the future with the right book and creative team.  Even without the fun, this book is an action lovers dream.  Deathstroke blows up, shoots and slices everything.  I guess that's fun in a badass terminator kind of way.

The art by Joe Bennett is good.  I can't say it blew me away, but everything looks right and Deathstroke does look badass.  He certainly has a big enough sword.

Bits and Pieces:

Deathstroke is a badass.  If you were looking for something other than that, this may not be the book for you.  Kyle Higgins quickly gets the reader up to speed on who and what Deathstroke is and then lets him loose on his victims. You can decide if he's an anti-hero or villain, but one thing he isn't is boring.

7.5/10