Midnighter and Apollo #6 Review

Hell Is For Victims

Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Fernando Blanco, Romulo Fajardo Jr and Josh Reed
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 1, 2017

I have really enjoyed this mini series to the point of being kind of sad it's ending.  That's quite the change since the New 52 Midnighter book and I give all the credit to Steve Orlando.  If you ask me, the focus of just having six issue to write really helped him and whether or not that's the case, I enjoyed almost all of what he gave us and couldn't wait to see how it all ends.  Well, the end is here, but is it good, bad or just plain ugly?  Let's go to hell and find out...

We open with a reminder of what little time Midnighter has to complete his search and rescue mission and then we see the aftermath of last issue.  Neron is standing over Midnighter and treating him like a basic bitch.  A BASIC BITCH!!!  This is Midnighter for Christ's sake and it all makes Neron look like such a damn badass!

Of course, Apollo is on his way and we see it and it looks awesome.  Fernando Blanco's art almost makes you feel the rush of hot air as Apollo zips by us and when he finally finds Neron and Midnighter, it's a hell of an explosive entrance.

While it looked like Apollo took care of Neron, one does not simply take care of Neron.  He leaves like the badass he is leaving Apollo and Midnighter to take care of a fucked up army of broken necked former foes and victims.  It sounds messed up and it is!

Unfortunately, what could have been a cool fight kind of fell flat.  While there is the tension of our two heroes getting back to Midnighter's apartment in time, they just kind of jump from fight scene to fight scence without any weight to them.  

I don't want to spoil anything, but it's tough to continue without telling everyone that the two eventually escape hell.  That's great in and of itself, but the icing on the cake is seeing the two lovers embrace after all the fucked up shit they've been through.  

The issue ends with a gathering of friends, a hint at a future evil and some of the best dialogue Steve Orlando has ever written.  Midnighter tells Apollo what he has learned and how it's changed his outlook...or how it hasn't.  Afterwards, Apollo shows us why he is one of my favorites and also why he is such a perfect match for Midnighter.  Then it all ends with a fourth wall breaking question that I'm not sure will end up answered the way I hope it would.

This was a good issue, just not the best in the series.  It didn't feel rushed, but instead felt like the big stuff already happened and thus made this feel like an extended epilogue.  I did like it, but after the last two over the top, ass kicking issues, this one felt a bit lackluster.

Fernando Blanco's art has been good throughout the series, but this is another thing that didn't stick the landing.  Everything had a muddy look to it which made some of the scenes more confusing then they needed to be.  It wan't horrible, but it wasn't great either.

Bits and Pieces:

Steve Orlando gives Midnighter and Apollo fans a good ending to their story, but i couldn't shake the feeling that it could've been better.  There are some great moments, but they are mixed among mediocre ones and because of that, we got a good, not great ending.  I still recommend this series as a whole to anyone looking for a mature cape and cowl book, but as a single issue, this fell a little flat.

7.0/10