Art by: Greg Smallwood
Colors by: Greg Smallwood
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Greg Smallwood
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: September 27, 2022
The Human Target #7 returns from a lengthy hiatus to continue Christopher Chance's investigation into his murder. When Fire takes center stage in Chance's adventure, the answers come hot and heavy, including the one answer that may end it all.
Is It Good?
The Human Target #7 is fine. The comic does one thing right (almost) and one very wrong, so those extremes cancel each other out with a passable issue who's only value is a big reveal on the last page.The one thing this issue gets right above all else is staying away from bizarrely misplaced character depictions beyond what King has already established... mostly. Ice is still Ice, Chance is still Chance, and Fire is almost Fire. For a former Brazilian model, there's nothing remotely Brazilian about Fire's demeanor or speech that would tip you off as to her heritage. If it wasn't for her powers, Fire would be a generic femme fatale insert. In short, this issue is surprisingly lacking in divisive character moments, so that's something.
The one thing this issue gets very wrong is the unforgivable sin - it's boring. The majority of the issue is a pseudo-date conversation between Fire and Chance wherein he tries to use clever conversation to convince Fire to confess to being the murderer. Conversely, Fire uses her feminine charms to get Chance to succumb to his manly urges, only to reveal later she was testing him to see if he's a worthy partner for Ice.
This entire issue is effectively two characters in conversation. In fairness, there's an out-of-nowhere robbery as an excuse to add action, but the conversation makes up the meat-and-potatoes of this issue. If the conversation revealed multiple bits of new information to instigate action or swayed attitudes to take a different course, there could be something to crow about in this issue. As it is, we only learn that Fire is NOT the murderer, and we learn who she gave the poison.
There's not much to say about Smallwood's art other than "it's gorgeous." Little sideways glances through a character's eyes speak volumes of subtext, the coloring is phenomenal, and the panel progression is a work of art.
The strange challenge with King's stories is the tendency to love some parts and loathe others. Here, King plays it very safe, and that may be the worst approach of all.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
The Human Target #7 is gorgeous, well-paced, and ends with a key piece of information in Chance's murder investigation. However, the journey from the first page to the last is effectively one long, mildly tense conversation that will bore most readers.
7/10
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