Jimmie Robinson’s “Five Weapons” continues to exemplify the best of the “boarding school” genre, while adding a delightfully violent twist. However, by following the same formulaic plot structure issue after issue, “Five Weapons” is beginning to lose some of its magic.
Written and Illustrated by Jimmie Robinson
At the annual school festival, Tyler is caught in a battle between the Archery club and the Exotic weapons club, but a new threat emerges from outside the school that could blow his cover and ruin everything.
Picking up from last issue, we find our protagonist facing down “Rick the Stick” in single combat. Without a weapon of his own, the odds are insurmountably stacked against Tyler. However, the brilliant hero he is, Tyler finds a way to exploit Rick’s weaknesses and prevail. If this sounds a lot like the fight with Jade in issue #2, it’s because it is.
Three issues into this series, it seems Robinson has settled into a specific story rhythm; Tyler wraps up fight from previous issue, Tyler shakes things up in the Five Weapons school, Tyler challenges the head of a weapons club and gets in over his head. While Robinson’s tight plotting and dialogue keeps interest high, this formulaic approach kills the tension, and brings Tyler dangerously close to becoming a Mary Sue character.
Even if Tyler’s victories are expected at this point, the way he outwits his opponents are creative and entertaining. Half the fun comes from guessing what Tyler will do next.
“Five Weapons” truly excels in its character interactions. Tyler is slowing building a crew consisting of the misfits and outcasts of Five Weapons school, each more interesting than the next. This issue showcases Joon the Loon, president of the exotic weapons club. With a pet snake, backwards clothes, blue hair, red eye-patch, Joon is a brilliantly weird/conflicted character that’s impossible not to love.
Other than Robinson’s fantastic character work, the mysteries surrounding the Five Weapons school continue to keep things interesting. After rising to the top of two weapons schools without raising so much as a fist, the school’s faculty have taken a keen interest in knocking Tyler down a few pegs.This leads to a confrontation from the enigmatic Professor O and the equally puzzling school nurse, hinting at a shared history that didn’t end well.
Another mystery of “Five Weapons,” the status of the true Shainline family and their body guards, is placed on the back burner here. While its clear Robinson wants to focus on Enrique (who is impersonating Tyler) and his ascension through the Five Weapons school, it’s unfortunate that this subplot isn’t touched on at all.
“Five Weapons” is an undeniably beautiful book, with a broad yet muted color pallet. The fight sequences are full of action, and Robinson has a fantastic sense of motion as characters dance across the page. The artist manages to give a distinct visual flavor to the various weapons schools, as well as the students and faculty.
While Robinson usually does a wonderful job of guiding the reader through a perfect blend of art and dialogue, there are a number of confusing moments in this issue, particularly during the school festival. For instance, the scene in which Tyler manages to grab a seal during the King of the Festival competition, while lacking a weapon, is choppily paced. While this will likely be explained in the following issue, the way it’s portrayed here is jarringly unclear. Also, a panel depicting Joon “attacking” Tyler is disorienting in its presentation. In yet another of choppy panel placement, one panel Joon features standing next to Tyler, while in the next she appears to be floating, missing her legs, and telepathically controlling boomerangs. Again, this can be explained by a line of dialogue (she has four weapons on her) but the way it is depicted sucks you out of the story for a moment.
As the story progresses, “Five Weapons” is starting to hit a few snags. The repetitive story beats and odd pacing take away some of the magic of previous issues, but a solid cast, and intriguing mystery, and beautiful art still make this one worth picking up.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy.
