Taskmaster #4 – Review

By: Fred Van Lente (writer), Jefte Palo (art), Jean Francois Beaulieu (colors), Dave Lanphear (letters) & Lauren Sankovitch (editor)

The Story: Van Lente fills in the last few bits as he fleshes out the suddenly very interesting Taskmaster character.

What’s Good: Who’s up for a Taskmaster ongoing?  I am!  Perhaps that is overdoing it, at least in this lousy comic sales environment, but in this series and issue Van Lente has really changed the way we see Taskmaster.  Perhaps it is a bit of a retcon, but it doesn’t seem to conflict that much with past characterizations of Taskmaster that we’ve seen.   Bravo!

For those who have missed it, Van Lente has turned Taskmaster into a kinda tragic figure.  His brain is filled to overflowing with his memorization of fighting styles at the like to the extent that something has to give.  And the things that always get lost when his brain gets too full are the details about who he is, the identity of his wife and the fact that he is really a good guy.  Mercedes (his wife) is just about as interesting as she dutifully stays at her husbands side, acting as his handler only to have him remember (and forget) her again and again.  How sad is that?

I think this could have been a great miniseries with any type of art, but Palo’s scratchy style seems especially well suited for this spy/espionage-y tale.  Once again, my favorite trick that he uses are the windows over Taskmaster when he is emulating someone else’s moves. Very clever.  I don’t know if he originated that concept, but it works well for demonstrating that Taskmaster is pulling a move he learned from Daredevil (as an example).  Without this bit of visual storytelling, we’d have to see a narration box explaining what moves he was using and that would be really clumsy.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Detective Comics #871 – Although I think I may have given Amazing Spider-Man #649 a higher raw grade, taking a few more days to reflect really makes me appreciate the excellence of this first issue by Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla.  Not only have they crafted a very good, back-to-basics Batman story, but they have made it very much a Dick Grayson story and that is very important now that we have multiple Batmen running around.  Runner-up: Amazing Spider-Man #649

Most Anticipated: Heroes for Hire #1 – Although my brain says this might be the latest short-lived Marvel title (see Thor: TMA, SWORD, Doctor Vodoo, Spider-Woman, etc.) my heart really wants to see this one go.  Can’t you find room in your pull list for a mash-up of street level Marvel characters helmed by Abnett and Lanning?  Should be a LOT of fun!

Other picks: American Vampire #9, Marineman #1, She-Hulks #2, Taskmaster #4, Irredeemable #20

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Detective Comics #871 – So…I’ve been a bit busy this week with my new kitten (hurray!) and have yet to chew through the entirety of my monstrous stack, but from what I’ve read…wow, what a week.  Fantastic efforts all-around from Amazing Spider-Man, Invincible Iron Man, Action Comics, Fantastic Four, and the Walking Dead, just to name a few.  In the end though, it was Scott Snyder and Jock’s Detective Comics that did it for me.  Snyder clearly understands the Batman franchise and he’s made a comic that feels both new and classic.  It’s the sort of gritty, realistic take that I think is exactly what’s needed in today’s wacky, Morrison dominated Bat-universe.

Most Anticipated: Action Comics Annual #13 – Wait, what?  Two issues of Paul Cornell’s Action Comics in two weeks?  Hell yeah!  Regular readers will know that this is my favourite DC title currently running and now with this Annual, we see Lex butt heads with Darkseid and Ra’s Al-Ghul in a super-sized issue.  I can’t see how this will be anything less than totally awesome, even if it does lack Pete Woods.  This is a comic that I’ll gladly fork over $4.99 for, and that’s saying a lot.

Other Picks: American Vampire #9, Brightest Day #15, Daredevil #512, Shadowland #5, Sweet Tooth #16, Secret Six #28

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman and Robin #17 – I liked the start of Paul Cornell’s new arc in the Batman and Robin #17 and it takes this week’s prize for me.

Most Anticipated: Brightest Day #15 –  Brightest Day #15 is promising Aqualad and Aquagirl (I love reimaginings) and more of Firestorm’s problems. Johns and Tomasi have had some pacing problems with this series, but wherever they’ve given enough space for the story to move forward, the story has been great. It doesn’t hurt that Ivan Reis is on the art team either!

Other Picks: Adventure Comics #521, Daredevil #512, Ozma of Oz #2, The Boys #49

Joe’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Uncanny X-Force #2 – I honestly did not think this would be my pick of the past week, but, damn was this good.  Sure, Remender’s script hit all the right notes and delivered a well-balanced package of character beats and awesome action, but the show really belongs to penciller Jerome Opena.  The man owns this book like no other could and that, my friends, is worth the price of admission alone.

Most Anticipated: Ant-Man & The Wasp #2 – Nothing jumped out at me from the pull list when I looked through on a search for the title I’m most excited about this week, so I’ll give it to a title who’s first issue surprised the heck out of me with how much fun it was.  Seeley’s odd couple pairing of this tiny duo was pitch perfect and especially captured the tone and humor of the cancelled Irredeemable Ant-Man series that introduced one of the titular characters.  Salva Espin’s artwork is also nothing to sneer at.  Here’s hoping they surprise me again.

Other Picks: Irredeemable #20, American Vampire #9, Brightest Day #15, Secret Six #28, Daredevil #512, Generation Hope #2, Ozma of Oz #2, Taskmaster #4, Wolverine The Best There Is #1