The idea of a superhero stepping across the 'No Kill' line certainly isn't new. But what happens when a superhero decides to get proactive?

John Dusk is a good man. He's a hardworking hero with superpowers that works within the system trying to bring order to a world that's bound to have bad people in it.

This has its good points for John. He's accepted by the society he works in. The story even shows that he's dating a cop who knows his identity, so readers know he's a part of normal society. So despite not working with the normal police force, he's able to collar bad guys and bring them in through normal channels. He's dating, so having a normal life, despite having a secret identity, is somewhat within his grasp. But operating, as he does, just outside the normal bounds of police procedure and without the normal support, he routinely runs into experiences that are nightmare inducing. And he does so alone.

When we join Dusk in the story, this has pushed him over the edge. A common phrase to be sure, but in this case the team behind Absolution has taken a step further--Dusk has moved from being a law enforcement agent, to a vigilante that kills criminals, to a murderer that kills people that will eventually, probably, do bad, bad things in the future. He's gone from being a questionable hero to being a villain in a hero's clothes. Now that he's crossed that line there's really no telling where Dusk will go.

The art is excellent in the book, particularly in the character design. The best example of this is Dusk's uniform, which fits in perfectly with the world of Absolution and his role in it: Police blue, designed for protection and practicality rather than show, pants that look more like jeans than tights, Dusk looks more like a cop than your average superhero. Also, the manifestation of his power (a neat idea in and of itself) is fluid and interesting.

Absolution is an interesting take on an old idea. How the title plays into the theme of the story isn't really discernible yet, but it should be interesting finding out.

If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at http://madbastard.hypersites.com

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