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(No Spoilers)
Where Sparta U.S.A. frustrated the heck out of me, in the end Garrison was successful in underwhelming me. I tried to give this book the benefit of the doubt but ultimately it was just your average comic.
Did we get more fun Francesco Francavilla art? Absolutely! Plus we get some great action scenes but that’s something that this series has delivered since the beginning.
(No Spoilers)
Garrison is undoubtedly Wildstorm’s summer blockbuster. I can’t say I’m blow away by the story by any means but Francavilla’s art and visual storytelling are keeping this comic more fun for me.
This comic is really banking on the mystery surrounding the title character. But fortunately, we do get some answers to his origins even though it’s only partial. Without Francavilla’s art, I’m not sure if I’d be enjoying this comic as much. He draws some incredible action scenes! One thing I really appreciate about his action is that the fights aren’t cookie-cutter. So far, every fight Francavilla has illustrated is unique from the last. It’s as if he was the fight choreographer in a movie and he was doing his best to keep each fight interesting. So far, I think he’s succeeded.
When I reviewed Garrison #1, I didn’t have much to say about it which is why it got a “Quick-Fix” review here at the site. It was a decent issue but based on what was presented I couldn’t find anything I wanted to elaborate on. Issue two is a totally different story though.
In issue one it’s basically established that everyone in the U.S. is under heavy surveillance. Everything people do is caught on camera and used against them if necessary. Along comes Garrison and he seems to be able to operate “in-between” all the surveillance enough to cause some chaos for the local authorities. The authorities have labeled him a serial killer but it’s obvious this is not what he is.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Wildstorm publication with Jeff Mariotte’s name on it. It’s been even longer since he’s written something that was published by Wildstorm. Jeff Mariotte was on several Wildstorm books back during their Image days. I know he’s done other original creations before but I hadn’t read any of them until now.
This issue is a decent set-up for the story. I’d equate it to the first 30-minutes of a film. There is some action, but even that seems to cater to the set-up and introduction of the story more than anything else. Mariotte does a good job of setting up our title character as a man of mystery. His motivations aren’t clear yet but his actions have the authorities after him. So far, there’s not much to know about Garrison the character but that’s part of the story itself. No one knows who this guy is or what to make of what he’s doing.
