This issue of The Troop is a strange one. There’s some parts that feel forced upon the story, but then there’s some really cool reveals that get you excited for more. It’s not perfect and stumbles a bit compared to the first two issues, but even in its stumbles it’s interesting. What’s become the norm is meeting two new characters or at least two new groups of characters per an issue. It’s building the world rather quickly, but at least it’s explained a little in this issue. Well, I should say the event behind the powers is explained which in a way explains the surge of powered people. It honestly reminds me of early X-Men books which were constantly introducing new characters each issue. Here though, it feels like an intentional device so that there’s more characters possibly to kill later on. Who knows.
We learn about the man in the room… it’s fucked up for sure. I won’t spoil it, but that’s the scene that reveals the event behind the powers so it’s important for a few reasons. The logic behind keeping the man alive… I don’t know. The third richest man in the world has suddenly become a walking Xavier (if you don’t know Xavier’s fucked up past listen to this week’s CBMFP!).
The group of powered characters we meet; we’re given no back story on. Other than their parents left and are probably dead. It was a change in pace from the format the first two issues had and I don’t think it was the best choice. I think it was a good issue to do it on because you don’t want to be too boring with your formula, but not the best characters to use it on. I really needed more time with them to care about them as they came face to face with not just one, but two evil organizations. That’s right, there’s a religious element to the story now and again, it hit those X-Men buttons in all the right places. That might be why I really enjoy this series, I don’t read X-Men anymore because of how terrible and jacked up it is, but with The Troop, it’s like a fresh start.
The character on the cover is the one we spend the most solo story time with. His power is interesting, but I don’t know if I’m going to like his character. I think he might end up being a character you love to hate just because of how he lives life. You don’t feel sympathetic towards him at all even when tragedy hits.
Because I don’t care I never realized that the writer of this series was on Doctor Who. Now that I know that it doesn’t change anything for me in the slightest, but it was cool to realize it. He’s a talented writer and I continue to be impressed with the pacing and narration of this story. Like I said, there’s some stumbles. There’s elements that feel forced. Some of the reveals weren’t fleshed out enough to enjoy in this issue, but overall the good outweighs the bad.
The art I have no complaints about. It’s gritty and violent when it needs to be. It’s realistic and should remind anyone of Bryan Hitch's work without the annoying photo reference of the same dude over and over. This world visually puts the X-Men to shame and makes the children of the atom look like a comic book from a bygone era where as The Troop look modern and fresh.
The series still needs to spend more time with the characters already introduced. Hell it needs to spend more time with the villains as well, but overall it’s a great read. As long as it keeps up the quality, I’m not worried about this book. If the writing or art dips, it could be the end of it. But right now it’s the only book about powered people hitting puberty that you should be reading about.
Score: 4/5
The Troop #3 Writer: Noel Clarke Artist: J. Cassara Colorist: Luis Guerrero Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 2/10/16 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital