Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Review | Tagged: amadeus cho, Anthony Piper, david baldeon, Diamondback, Domino, gail simone, hulk, jesus aburtov, Marvel Comics, Outlaw, sci-fi, superheroes, the totally awesome hulk, weapon x, x-force, x-men

Domino #3 Review: Unearned Moments Helped by Solid Dialogue

Domino, hurt and barely conscious, reminisces on the experiments and the people that created her. Upon awaking, she realizes that all her friends, her team, are dead. This pisses Neena off, and she beelines for Topaz with the intent of putting the woman in the ground.

Domino #3 continues the book's descent into the saccharine, and I'm beginning to be concerned that the series won't be able to pull back from this trend.

The camaraderie in Gail Simone's Secret Six was among the top things that made the title great. However, that was built from the ground up by the series, and it showed good times and bad between the characters. This tight relationship between Domino and Amadeus Cho doesn't feel earned. I'll grant that I didn't read Weapon of Mutant Destruction, so maybe that justifies this bond.

That's not the main frustrating point of this issue though. That comes in the holy vengeance crusade that Domino embarks upon to kill Topaz only to be immediately undercut by the fact that Diamondback, Outlaw, and Amadeus Cho are, as one would likely guess, not really dead.

The rest of the comic still has a lot of charm. Domino's thought captions and dialogue are highly entertaining. The flashback scenes are intense and evocative. The finale brings in a Marvel character I've personally missed since his last appearance. That doesn't quite salvage the story of this book though.

David Baldeon's artwork in this issue feels a little lacking too. There are plenty of dramatic scenes that are undercut by how goofy some of the pained facial expressions appear. This isn't consistent throughout, but it is a noticeable issue. Anthony Piper handles the flashback scenes, and they look decent enough. They're not mind-blowing, but they're not bad either. The color art of Jesus Aburtov is bright and appealing though, and that does help the Baldeon panels.

Domino #3 is a charming but heavily flawed comic. The undercut emotional intensity of the opening worsened by saccharine scenes that aren't earned. While Domino is still likable herself and salvages much of the book, the full product just doesn't gel. I can't say to stay away from this book, but it doesn't earn a recommendation either.

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