Deathstroke #18 Review

Wedding Day Jitters

Written by: Christopher Priest
Art by: Joe Bennett, Norm Rapmund, Jeromy Cox and Willie Shubert
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: May 3, 2017

It's been a long road to get to where we are in Deathstroke, but it really has paid off.  If you've read my reviews and/or listened to our podcast, you'll be aware of my struggle with this book.  I have gone up and down and back again with my scores, but that changed a bunch of issues back when Christopher Priest started telling a more straightforward story and things setup from the get go started paying off.  That continued last issue when everything seemingly collided head on, ending with a crazy cliffhanger.  How can Jericho get married if his bride is dead.  Well, I guess death didn't stop Isherwood, but this is a bit different.  So, who killed Etienne and what will that mean going forward? Let's see if we find out...

The issue opens with Jericho (in full Dr. Ikon suit) beating the crap out of Deathstroke.  The scene is quick and brutal and actually ends with father and son about to be run over by a big rig that couldn't possibly avoid them.

We go back in time from there and while that's one of the things I was glad Priest left behind recently, this issue is all about what lead to the wedding and Etienne's murder.  We first see Rose get picked up at the airport, but then head to Etienne and Deathstroke.  It's a bittersweet scene after last issue's cliffhanger, but we get another suspect in the murder when we find out she was working for Amanda Waller.

Back with Rose, a bunch of loose threads are tied up as the Red Lion thanks Slade by giving Rose the Ravager suit and it makes sense and is so awesome!  It's obviously the beginning of a new direction as Rose thinks back to what Batman told her when he joined the book for an issue earlier in this run.

We then get a brief look at Isherwood dealing with his recent resurrection and Wintergreen dealing with his voice being the Ikon Suit's AI voice.  The whole thing leads to Wintergreen freaking out at everything that Deathstroke has done to lead to this moment.

After resolving the "Richard situation" (for now), we head off to the wedding.  The gangs all there, but when the groom arrives, all hell breaks loose.  It's back to the first scene of the book and as the fight between Jericho and Slade goes on, we see there is more to it than just a cheating wife being murdered right before her wedding.  It also has to do with how fucked up the Wilson family is and I can only blame Deathstroke himself.  He was never Father of the Year material, but he makes up for a bit here by holding back.

The issue ends with Jericho with a ton of blood on his hands...and his legs...and his chest...and even though we didn't get the answers I was hoping for, we get a ton of other stuff and I really enjoyed it.

Christopher Priest continues using everything he laid out in previous issues to make the current one better.  Seriously, this issue had more editor note callbacks than any I've ever read and while that usually irritates me, I read all the issues and it was all spot on.  Shame on anyone for not reading them before now!  The overall story continues to show Slade's fucked up world view and while I will never use this book as a parenting guide, I am having a ball reading it.

The art is no slouch either.  Joe Bennett has a clean style that packs a lot of punch in every panel.  Instead of trying to wow the reader, he just lets the story do the heavy lifting while making sure everything still looks great.

Bits and Pieces:

While I was expecting more answers as we head into the Lazarus Contract crossover, we do tie up a ton of loose ends that readers of the whole run will love.  I can't wait for the big mystery to be solved, but I also can't wait for the crossover and am glad we are getting both soon.  This is a series that may take a little more work than most, but it is so worth it in the end.

8.0/10