Haunt #16 Review
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 02 June 2011 01:00
- Written by Andrenn
Haunt has had a rough time with the third arc and the new villain Apparition. Now things are winding down and Haunt is one step closer to facing his new nemesis. Kirkman and Capullo's run is slowly getting closer to an end as well. Does this issue lead into the big finale of the arc or is it stuck in limbo? Let's find out!
Creative Team
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Greg Capullo
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8Night Girls out of 10
Commentary
The Good: Haunt #16 is the best issue of the Apparition arc so far and that is actually not a very good thing. This arc was brimming with promise but its faltered by very poor pacing and not really doing much with the villain. Still this issue was a big improvement as we learn a little more about Haunt and by the end of it I was left renewed and excited to see how Kirkman wraps things up next time.
The highlight of the issue is a discussion that Kurt has with a mysterious voice. So far we have no clue as to who it is and apparently it is not God. All we know is that its powerful enough to save Kurt from the Apparition and that Haunt needs to do something for it. I am not a big fan of these big mystery characters usually, but I admit the discussion itself was interesting and hinted at there being something far larger going on with Haunt than a simple espionage story.
Up until this point, Haunt has been grounded in more of a Spy Espionage motif. Haunt has been a secret agent going in and kicking ass with a super natural twist. Now, there may be something much larger going on and the sheer potential for all of this is rather exciting.
It was also nice to focus on Kurt more this time. So far, this series has really been more about Daniel than his brother. That's fine, he is the brother that is alive and he is the one that actually turns into the physical entity of Haunt. But, focusing more on Kurt was a nice change of pace for the series and it was a reminder that he is just as much the main character as Daniel is.
Hurg continues to be a fun character to follow. Kirkman has a really odd character with Hurg. He is a total badass but, more important than that, he is actually pretty funny. He has a great moment with Cobra that almost feels like something out of a comedy. We are not sure what he is up to anymore other than he wants Haunt but it is clear he has got bigger goals then making money.
There was a nice little bit of development for the character of Director Tosh. It is a small moment but one of my big complaints with Haunt has been a lack of developing the smaller side-characters that while they may be important they do not seem to get much use or real development. I am glad to see Kirkman fixing that mistake as she has a rather nice moment that shows she does not have all the answers.
Greg Capullo leaving Haunt may count as a criminal offense in my opinion. Capullo has dome some spectacular work on Haunt but his most recent stuff has not been up to par. The main complaint has been that it looks rushed. This issue that turns around though as the artwork is all nicely detailed and there were not really any goofs like previous issues. Its a great looking issue.
The final two or so pages really re-invigorated my interest in this arc and got me excited again. After a few issues of slowly pushing the plot along we have finally reached the big match with Apparition and it looks to be a great time. The cliff-hanger was simple but effective and left me eager to read the next issue.
The Bad: While this issue did pick up the pace, overall, the Apparition arc has been a perfect example of poor pacing in comics. Not lot has been accomplished other than running from the Apparition and Hurg breaking out of prison. The action has been solid but, otherwise, it has been a sloppy paced read that could have been cut short an issue or two to not drag on so much.
As I said earlier, I am not a big fan of the mysterious voice characters. Now this was not as bad as they usually are, but more than often characters like this are made just to be a big spooky mystery for the writer to drag out for a longer story. Now we know Haunt is backed up by some mysterious force and now we know it will take at least 10 to 50 issues to reveal who or what that is. Boring.
Overall: Haunt #16 is a solid improvement for the Apparition arc but, as a whole, the arc has been fairly weak. It has some of Capullo's best art on the series though and that is definitely a plus for the series. It was a very good read and the character work really helped boost it from being more of a generic issue like the previous ones have been. It got me excited to see how things end next time and that's also a plus. It is a good issue but hopefully things improve more with the finale of the arc.
Haunt