Issue three and still no heist. You could stop reading the review there and you'd have pretty much all the info you need. If this was an ongoing series, I would have no worries about the pacing as the artwork and information given is great. I really like the characters and story. The only problem is this is a mini-series of only four issues. With the conclusion of this one that leaves only one more issue to wrap this whole thing up. The way this comic is being played out it feels like just the first act of a heist movie. Which means they are going to have to cram in acts two and three into the final issue. So onto the good stuff in this issue. We finally get to hear the 'plan' and how it's going to go down. This is great as we now fully understand why Tony has picked these guys and what he wants. The artwork is gorgeous, this is one of those books I would buy solely for the art. It's clean and crisp with great colors, but the best thing about it is the crowds. Every panel with a crowd has so much detail, we get to see average conventioneers and those who are cos-playing. There are only a few panels where they resort to the generic Grey blob for mass crowds.
The suit that Hendrix gets to pull off the heist (where they will store the money they steal) is a great nod to a certain rejuvenated mega-franchise. This is either great or really hacky, I can't decide which. The scene plays out strange, turning the washed up Hendrix (who's so down on his luck that he joins this gang to rob the con) into a player. If he's that good with women then he's obviously still got juice in the tank (wink, wink), I'm supposed to believe that young women would still sleep with him but he can't get an acting job.
I'm not really surprised by the story this time. A lot of it is generic stuff that is playing on typical tropes. Obviously this is bound to happen to a degree with something like this that is either; paying homage to or parodying genres. In some ways they are so successful with this that it becomes slightly predictable. The cliffhanger as it were is another of these predictable moments, you knew this from the first issue and had more clues last issue and this one before finally showing/telling us.
Even with its predictable story, the likeable characters, dialogue and artwork will bring me back for the finale.
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The Big Con Job #3 Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti and Matt Brady Artist: Dominike “Domo” Stanton Colorist: Paul Little Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital
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