Generally speaking, the quality of a product which has been purchased in a alleyway isn’t exactly guaranteed. It’s even riskier when, as is the case in this Boom! Studios ongoing, that commodity happens to be a superpower. Now that the hero of “Suicide Risk” has gone and bought one for himself, the question is whether he can handle it, and where on earth it’ll take him now. And yes, there are probably going to be some explosions along the way.
Written by Mike Carey
Illustrated by Elena Casagrande
When there are only villains, being a hero makes you a…SUICIDE RISK. After barely surviving a super-powered bank heist gone horribly wrong, beat cop Leo Winters vowed to try and find a way to stop them. Following a lead, he discovered two lowlifes who seemed to be able to grant a person powers…for the right price. Thing is: you don’t get to choose which power. It’s seemingly random, a crap-shoot, a risk. And now Leo will find out just how big of a risk he took…
In a lot of ways, this is your typical cop-gone-rogue story. The hero’s partner was crippled on the job (in this case, by a supervillain wielding a black market superpower); now, the hero’s on leave, but he’s trying to get to the bottom of it all using whatever means necessary. It’s a tired enough set of circumstances, but the superpower aspect does add a good dose of fun. The best scenes in this issue show Leo trying to figure out the exact nature of his superpower, and when he nails it, it adds up to one pretty cool phenomenon. A particularly well-blocked scene shows Leo quizzing his daughter on physics. The simple experiment she sets up illustrates the superpower beautifully, while their banter adds an extra touch of humanity and warmth to the issue.
Meanwhile, Leo’s hunt for some answers in regard to the criminal team he’s dealing with is escalating fast, taking him way out of his jurisdiction and closer to the realm of the vigilante. The pieces seem to be coming together rather quickly, and with an ending as, er, explosive as this issue’s, it looks like there are going to be consequences to deal with – fast. As things stand, though, the locus of interest rests on Leo and his superpower, and whether he can really control it, and in an issue with lots of solidly-employed tropes, having this one cap off the issue falls a little flat. It sounds odd to say that more variety would have done this chapter some good – what on earth does that mean, breakdancing kangeroos? – but a little eccentricity may have stabilized the overall orbit, as it were, of the issue. Of course, this may just be another way of saying that I miss the unforgettable Extended Remix (whose superpowers and goofiness distinguished the first issue), and that when the villains come back into the picture, all will be well.
Casagrande’s art is both potent and elegant, setting down intense actions scenes and some gorgeous and expressive people. Leo’s expressions in particular add surprising dimensions to the story – he runs the gamut from handsome hero cop to actually kind of unhinged and smarmy vigilante dude, and the transitions from one to the other are handled beautifully. His wife and children come across as human and sympathetic (not the simple foils that they easily could have been), and add that much more interest and believability to the overall situation. And while the way Leo’s superpower is handled isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, it’s simple and effective, and gets the point across without crowding the panel.
Andrew Elder’s colours, meanwhile, are moody and subdued, matching the vague sense of angst that surrounds Leo’s predicament without getting too caught up in darkness.
It may not be the deepest story in the word, but “Suicide Risk” is a solid fusion of police drama and superhero story that moves along swiftly, crafting an engaging narrative through excellent use of tropes and fantastic art. And when it comes to down to the essential parts of an entertaining comic, what else do you really need?
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
