He’s old, he’s cantankerous, and if you’re on his lawn he’s liable to shoot you…it’s Last Contract #3, and everyone’s favorite octogenarian assassin!
The Last Contract #3 (BOOM! Studios)
OMINOUS BLOODY HANDS!
This really is an odd little book as everything about it is just slightly off. Canadian setting, old man hero, Canadians not being polite…it’s just strange enough that you feel unsettled generally at all times. Add in artwork that imparts a very rushed and breathless sense to the scenes, and you get a book that puts you off your guard…
Just like you’re an old man, experiencing some mental issues, and running away from the mob and your home.
“…granted he’s fat and dumb, but he’s MINE.”
Alright, let’s catch you up: our hero, nameless and old as hell, has been targeted for the same mob he used to kill for, because someone, somewhere has squealed, and they’re eliminating all their old variables.
He, being ancient and generally pissed off, takes this badly.
Issue 3 opens seconds after the end of issue two, with a giant “do not fuck with me” lady assassin machine gunning the hell out of hero’s flop house motel. We find out that she is taking a contract out on him to protect her own background in the “shoot ’em in the face” profession. I find the pragmatic approach all these contract killers take to jobs to be pretty interesting, as using a high caliber machine gun on a small town motel is bound to bring the cops down on you pretty fast, but let’s assume these cats are doers, and not planners.
“Cheryl, you can’t do that to a dog. Come on.”
As things tend to do, they go wrong; our hero and the young man he’s protecting get split up, and Methuselah ends up blacking out and crashing his car…you remember? The one with the dead body in the trunk? ALL THIS IN ONLY THE FIRST 10 PAGES!
Is It Good?
This book is still cranking out good solid issues with lots of narrative.
The artwork, dark and gritty and slightly damp looking, is probably not going to be for everyone. If it is this wild because our protagonist himself is not exactly playing with a full deck, then it’s a great stylistic choice.
With one issue left, this has been a fun ride of a series. I’m invested enough to care about the characters, I want to see the conclusion, and seeing how dark and gritty everything up to now has been I can only assume it’s going to be gruesome.
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