X had a little different week. We follow Danny Ruidoso around this week, I said last issue that I liked Danny, and I still hold true to that. He adds something new; something pure. With all the blood and guts, it is nice to see a simple cop trying to do the right thing. Our big reveal last issue revolved around the new bad guy, El Jeffe. El Jefe is actually Lt. Setter who happens to be Danny’s boss. Obviously, Danny is so innocent; he has no idea who Setter really is. Setter puts a team together in order to find X. We don’t really know Setter’s full motive, but he is thinking this team will fail, which is beneficial because they are all “good” cops or they will find X, kill him, and this would be perfect also. It is a good situation for Setter.
Like I said, we don’t see much of X. This would normally not be cool since X is why you read the comic. But shifting out story only adds to the illusion of X. He doesn’t want to be known, and even the writers are conscious of this. This is why I gave a mediocre rating. I think typical fans of the series will be disappointed in the slow movement of this week’s comic. In my opinion, we needed a clear break from X’s attitude and demeanor. It is a cycle that needs some flare added to it. Danny’s team is that flare. Leigh, I thought, would be that link to reality, but we haven’t seen much of her either.
We get to know Danny’s team pretty well considering we just met these people. They have one thing in common it seems; they are all nice guys. Some are tougher, some are women, some are weak, but all are nobodies. It amazes me that even Danny is confused on why a rookie will be leading a team after Arcadia’s most dangerous man. You think he would catch onto Setter just a tad, but this is all part of the picture being painted. I really can’t tell how much this team will play a part in the series. I am thinking a lot since the whole issue takes time to introduce the guys and gal who make it up.
I think the weak point of this issue and maybe some more issue will be our villain. Don’t get me wrong, Setter is a good villain, BUT he isn’t great. We got a peak of his evils beforehand, so you would think each issue would just build on that and show us how cruel this man really is. Reading this issue, I wasn’t even convinced Setter was a villain, because I still haven’t seen him do anything. I am interested to see where his character goes. With Berkshire, it almost seemed personal with X. Berkshire is such an evil dude. I mean he turns into a total pig! So why have Setter be so lame right out of the gate. I was hoping for some big guns being thrown at the readers soon, so we can all hate Setter and once again vote for X to rip off his face.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Duane Swierczynski Artist: Eric Nguyen Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 11/13/13