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A review by jgkeely
Human Target by Edvin Biuković, Peter Milligan
4.0
I've come to expect a lot from Milligan over the years, and while this isn't his best series, the opening arc is strong. This is the least bizarre story I've read from him: it's mostly an action-packed (if rather dark) spy story, though that doesn't mean it is, by any stretch 'normal'. Once again, his penchant for plunging deep into character psychology and interrelationship pays off.
It certainly shouldn't surprise us to see a theme of lost self-identity in a book about a man who lives the lives of others, but Milligan's take is fresh and filled with those little, surprising bits of verisimilitude that mark him as the preeminent literary voice in comics, even in a less mind-bending story.
Unfortunately, Milligan doesn't expand much upon these themes in later volumes, as the series unfolds, we tend to get more of the same. It's unusual to see a Milligan who isn't pushing his own boundaries, but perhaps he felt limited by the setting, or it could be his way of writing a simpler, more accessible series.
Biukovic's art is solid and evocative, and it's a certain shame to have lost his talent so young. His replacement by Pulido in the next volumes is a big loss for the series, as the soft, light colors and blocky, cartoonish characters are hardly a good match for an introspective hard-boiled spy story.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
It certainly shouldn't surprise us to see a theme of lost self-identity in a book about a man who lives the lives of others, but Milligan's take is fresh and filled with those little, surprising bits of verisimilitude that mark him as the preeminent literary voice in comics, even in a less mind-bending story.
Unfortunately, Milligan doesn't expand much upon these themes in later volumes, as the series unfolds, we tend to get more of the same. It's unusual to see a Milligan who isn't pushing his own boundaries, but perhaps he felt limited by the setting, or it could be his way of writing a simpler, more accessible series.
Biukovic's art is solid and evocative, and it's a certain shame to have lost his talent so young. His replacement by Pulido in the next volumes is a big loss for the series, as the soft, light colors and blocky, cartoonish characters are hardly a good match for an introspective hard-boiled spy story.
My Suggested Reading In Comics