We’ve reached the penultimate issue of this altogether unusual series centering on a boarding school for young assassins, and while things are for the most part keeping to a high standard, it’s not exactly smooth going either. As Zach noted last issue, there are a couple of snags in terms of plot and pacing going on here that are starting to interrupt the generally breezy and fun rhythm of the book.
Written and Illustrated by Jimmie Robinson
Tyler has to battle the Gun Club, beat the faculty’s scheme to expel him and keep his secret identity safe at the school of Five Weapons. Not a problem for Tyler’s devious calculations – except this time he doesn’t have a plan.
It’s going to be hard for Tyler to graduate without his joining a club, as successful as he has been with his nonviolent approach so far. In joining the gun club, though, he intends to help somebody else out in a big way — but at what cost?
As usual, a lot of the suspense comes from the fact that we have no way of knowing just how Tyler will think his way through this encounter, particularly since, as the solicit emphasizes, he hasn’t got much in the way of a plan this time, and there’s a rather dangerous element in play. But again as usual, Robinson ends this issue with a cliffhanger, so we’ll find out how this fight turned out in the last one. Echoing as it does the same structure of the first three issues, albeit with a stake-raising twist, this issue is a bit predictable. That said, it also has the most intense cliffhanger of the series so far, and that makes it a great bridge to what is looking to be one surprising last chapter.
Apart from the repetitive structure of the book – which has a kind of charm unto itself, especially in a miniseries as opposed to an ongoing – there are some logical flaws popping up the the story that do make it harder to get into. For instance, part of the plot of this issue relies on a character not being able to tell how old L’Harma is because she wears a burqa, and this idea definitely strains one’s suspension of disbelief. Another odd element is L’Harma’s tendency toward speaking in badly conjugated Shakespearean English. This may after all be an intentional clue – the fact that Rick the Stick could understand French was a similar detail, which Tyler used against him – but as things stand it’s kind of awkward.
One intriguing new element that’s bound to have an interesting payoff involves a new character – one who’s actually supposed to be dead. Her portrayal and actions in this issue are mysterious enough, and the way she brings the locus of interest back to the Shainline family history makes for a nice counterpoint to the more formulaic boarding school antics.
The art is as colourful and crisp as always, working around and incorporating a large number of speech bubbles and always managing to catch the eye in an innovative way. Given the short span of the series, Robinson’s layouts are wonderfully flexible, sometimes cramming as many as seven or eight panels onto the page. For all the storytelling going on per square inch of paper, there are remarkably few unclear moments, and the pages never look crowded, either – no mean feat in a story with this much action in it.
Then there’s just the iconic quality to nearly every panel on this book, mostly coming out of the fact that Robinson’s character designs are so memorable and distinctive. Having the archery teacher actually go around with an arrow sticking out of her head is so spot-on and ludicrous that it’s hard to ignore, and this kind of detail incorporated into the majority of the characters lends a lot of interest and flair to scenes that have less action in them.
All told, “Five Weapons” isn’t exactly following up on the promise it showed in its first and second issues, but it’s still mighty entertaining and beautiful to look at. And with just one issue left, let’s just look forward to Robinson sticking the landing as that intriguing subplot comes to light.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy
