It's over man. It's over. This very well done little miniseries completed as a part of Dark Horse Comic's Project Black Sky line of new superhero offerings has been a very welcome addition to an already good product that brings the reader back to legendary characters of yore making them relevant again. It has been a real nice tie in with the Captain Midnight franchise adding substance to an already well done character. And after reading this mini with some of the other Black Sky offerings, I have to say that writer Joshua Hale Fiakov and artist Manuel Garcia have really blown up this story making it as good as the Captain Midnight stories themselves. Skyman is hands down my favorite other Project Black Sky other than the good Captain himself. I sincerely hope to see him more as this Dark Horse experiment with superheroes continues.
Skyman has followed the adventures of war disabled Sergeant Eric Reid who has been selected to be the face of what had been a secret underground "super" program used to conduct black ops and other shady practices after the disappearance of Captain Midnight in the 1940s. The group had been secret, that is until the previous Skyman went on a public rampage followed by some other not too good PR related to the program. Reid was selected because of his service and toughness and has become the face of the organization. But underneath lies the true nature of the program that continues their covert ways and are none too happy with Reid and his uncompromising commitment to the service of good. They want him dead and began the process in Issue #3. Rescued and assisted by Captain Midnight, preparations began for a battle between our heroes and the whole of the Skyman program. Issue number 4 is what happens next and concludes the series. As to what happens, we get a super sweet sky battle for the ages that tests our heroes and shows the reader what duty and courage is all about, even in the face of superior numbers opposition.
Like the whole series, this issue continues at a brisk and entertaining pace from start to finish. Joshua Hale Fialkov writes Skyman for what he is, tough as nails, heroic, and with no fear for consequences when what is right is on the line. Reid is heroic. And here, as he battles the other Skymen alongside of Captain Midnight, we are seeing glimpses of what will be one seriously kick ass team in the future as Project Black Sky continues to reveal itself. The tone has been set and we get an awesome battle with an equally nice surprise in the end that will definitely make certain that things will remain hot for some time to come.
Manuel Garcia has done something impressive to me here. He has taken the art in Skyman and really drawn it on an equal level as the Captain Midnight artwork. We get stoic with a nice modern touch making this other old school character absolutely contemporary. He kicks it. And the action sequences here are top notch. It would have been easy to render distance shots throughout, but Garcia focuses on all aspects of the battle, even drawing some very precise up close and personal combat.
As I come to a close of this series, I find myself a little bit sad. I have been enjoying this run, and now it's over. I have discovered really good talent in Fialkov and Garcia and I really hope to see some more of them as time will only tell where Skyman will go next. Here's to hoping that he won't stay gone long.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov Artist: Manuel Garcia Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 4/16/14 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital