Last issue of Protectors, Inc, I felt that there was a marked improvement. The story was becoming stronger, we got character development, and the mystery was progressing quite nicely. I’m hoping for similar progression in this new issue. Is it good?
Protectors Inc. #8 (Image Comics)
Detective Riley continues making progress with his murder case as he goes over evidence and suspects. The results so far seem to be connecting the death of the Huntsman to the death of the woman whose body was pulled out of the lake. This appears to be a significant lead, but it may also put the detective in great danger as well.
…we matched this guy’s DNA to several dine-and-dash cases all over the country!
As we’ve seen in previous installments in the series, the comic is slow going, but we are actually continuing to make a bit of progress here as the main story arc is getting close to an end. The mystery continues to unravel; we learn more about Protectors, Inc. and are getting more clues into who may be responsible for this, as well as some more character development and characterization for Riley. It’s pretty good stuff honestly and I am getting more and more interested in how this all shapes up.
Of course, J. Michael Straczynski’s writing helps this story out a lot. The pacing is decent, but slow for the most part (it does speed up a bit due to the big scene in the middle, though). The story flows well from scene to scene, and there’s still a good amount of chemistry and interaction between Detective Riley and the other characters that feel natural. The dialogue and narration is solid and has few good and amusing lines, though there are also some oddball ones as well. The ending is also really good and rather surprising, giving the book a good hook that’ll be sure to get you interested for the next one.
Unfortauntely, the artwork is always the weakest link of Protectors to me. Like I’ve said about previous issues, it’s not bad. It does its job fairly well, with a decent presentation of the story, the layouts, the characters, and all of that. Heck, I like some of the smaller parts with the subtle expressions Riley has as he listen to answering machine messages. But, it’s just so rather bland and boring looking. Nothing really pops out about it or is all that exciting, except for the big scene in the middle that Gordon Purcell does a fairly decent job of depicting. Just needs a bit more going for it.
Is It Good?
Protectors, Inc. #8 is a good experience if you have been sticking with the comic since the beginning. The story and mystery are finally coming together and heating up, while we are getting some much needed character development for our lead. While the artwork is nothing that will astound you, the great writing more than makes up for it. Definitely keep going with it if you are this far in. Exciting times lay ahead.
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