Plot: Superhero cop John Dusk is being pushed to the limit fearing that the serial killings being investigated by his department will eventually be solved and everyone will discover that he is the killer they have been searching for.

Comments: Absolution is a book that by its very nature touches many genres. Obviously, since we are dealing with individuals with superpowers it has its ties to superhero comics but it also is very much a crime and/or police procedural book. Some readers might make a quick comparison to Powers by Bendis and Oeming which, for years, has been working the 'superhero as cop' angle and to a great deal of success. But Absolution is completely different. Reading Absolution is like reading a Law and Order: SVU comic where Detective Eliot Stabler has finally just given in to his rage and anger and disappointment in society and just snapped. The difference here is that in Absolution Detective John Dusk has superpowers.

Christos Gage has created for us a very dark and violent world but so much like our own except for the presence of superpowered beings, here called enhanciles. Dusk is part of a team of super-cops shown to include the Servant and Alpha, whose attack on her family is the motivating piece that moves the action forward. Dusk's powers are a sort of hybrid between telekinesis and Green Lantern's power ring. Since the #0 issue this summer Gage has painted an image of a man that just can't take it anymore, he wants to make a difference and with his powers can make difference, in a more personal and protective way. Dusk hasn't given up on being a cop, he just has given up on the system.

This issue opens a heartbeat after the end of the previous one. Dusk is face to face with the Technocrat, one of the mob bosses in the city. The Technocrat is an enhancile as well, an evil mastermind that has learned of Dusk's extracurricular activities. Naturally, this complicates things.

This issue really was a big payoff for readers. We got further and further into the head of Dusk and his thought process. Gage has written him as the victim in this story, a just man tortured by the inhumanity of humanity. He has been trying to both justify his actions as a police officer and a man as well as find a way out. There have been scenes of the guilt Dusk feels for his actions and the lives he took but also his justifications for what he has done and the sense of justice it brings. Gage is very straightforward in his writing and moves very quickly. It has only been three issues and it feels like many more. That's because there is so much in every scene and every line of dialogue.

The artwork by Viacava is perfect for this series. He has a very solid and clean style with precision to his layouts. And that serves very well here. A story like this doesn't call for flashy layouts or camera angles, that would be a distraction. Instead by sticking to a simple structure the focus is on the characters and happenings on the page and not on the artist.

This series continues to impress me with every issue and this one has been the best so far. As we head to the conclusion in issue #6 the reader has no idea how it will end and what will happen to the characters. Will Dusk somehow free himself from the path he has chosen? Will he meet the justice he deserves for that chosen path? Gage has done an excellent job dealing with the setup to these issues and I am eager to see the finish.

---

What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!

---