Review: Deathstroke Vol. 4- Family Business

Quick Summary

Pros: The Ra’s al Ghul storyline is exciting and keeps things interesting. The final chapter is excellent and is one of the best single stories in this series.

Cons: Most of the volume is centered around some unappealing battles. The main villain is disappointingly generic. Rose Wilson’s storyline is rather poor.

Overall: This volume starts out with a number of errors that it never is able to fully recover from. Generic villains, a strangely shifting narrative, and a general lack of excitement critically damage the main storyline. Ra’s al Ghul helps kick off a more interesting arc and the volume ends with a stellar final story, but these positives only barely outweigh the negatives. Overall, there are some entertaining sections here but, as an end to an otherwise good series, this volume is a disappointment.

Review Notes

Most of this collection is comprised of comic issues from the Deathstroke Vol. 3 series. However, this collection also includes one issue of the Deathstroke Vol. 4 series, which is the series that immediately follows this one. For this reason we will not be discussing this one issue of Deathstroke Vol. 4 and will be instead discussing it in our review of Deathstroke Vol. 1: The Professional. (review coming soon).

This review will cover issues #17-20 and Annual #2 of Deathstroke Vol. 3.

Story

Despite a few exciting moments of action and an excellent final chapter, Deathstroke Vol. 4: Family Business, by James Bonny, is a bit of a letdown. Instead of the epic showdown that the previous volumes had been building toward, this volume splits the battle into several smaller battles and then shifts the focus of the narrative entirely. This, when combined with a lackluster main villain and some poor character motivation, kills the momentum of the series and makes it hard to enjoy this narrative. Some excitement from Ra’s al Ghul and an excellent final chapter help repair this damage but don’t fix it entirely. In the end, this isn’t the worst volume out there but it certainly isn’t the thrilling conclusion that fans were hoping for.

(spoilers start here)

The first disappointment in Family Business comes from a few reveals that take place around the volume’s beginning. Readers learn that Lawman was a former partner of Deathstroke who he, unknowing, left for dead on a mission and that Rose Wilson’s actions are explained by Lawman’s mind control. The reveal behind Lawman’s origin is incredibly generic and turns him from a potentially interesting villain to an instantly forgettable minor-threat. In addition, having Rose Wilson drastically influenced by mind control undermines her real feelings of resentment, an exploration of which would have been far more interesting than the actual story.

From here, the potentially climactic battle between Deathstroke and Lawman is quickly wrapped up after a relatively minor fight. Lawman and Co. escape for a while and then battle Deathstroke again later, in another relatively minor fight. This happens one more time before the Ra’s al Ghul takes over as the book’s main antagonist. Breaking up the battles like this takes away suspense and interest from each fight. By the time the final battle takes place, I was tired with the entire concept and ready to just be done with it.

Luckily, Ra’s al Ghul proves to be a worthy adversary for Deathstroke and an interesting addition to the story. His shifting motives and unclear allegiances add mystery and intrigue to the narrative and were what encouraged me to keep reading. In addition, his showdown against the Wilson family is more compelling and exciting than most of the Lawman narrative. Ra’s al Ghul’s inclusion here does not make up for the volume’s earlier transgressions but does save it from being a complete disaster.

The volume’s final chapter also helps increase the book’s overall quality. The final chapter is a single story unconnected to the rest of the volume, focusing on Deathstoke’s mission to completely destroy a small country. It is an immensely entertaining saga filled with unexpected twists, emotion, and plenty of well-written action. This chapter is so good that it nearly justifies the entire book all on its own.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Family Business starts out with another solid looking chapter from Tyler Kirkham. His work here fits the tone of the story and looks just as good as it did in the previous volume. However, the following chapters, by Paolo Pantalena, do not look nearly as good. They have a heavy visual similarity to Kirkham’s style but lack the refined level of quality. This is especially noticeable in the characters, whose appearances have an annoying level of inconsistency.

Luckily, the book’s final chapter is a nice step up in terms of quality. Artwork from Mirko Colak and Roberto Viacava does a great job in capturing the gritty and rough nature of Deathstroke’s actions here. In addition, colors from Michael Spicer wonderfully reflect the story’s tone and help readers get in the proper mood for reading this chapter. All of this helps to give the volume’s best story some of its best artwork as well.

Continuity

Deathstroke Vol. 4: Family Business continues the story from Deathstroke Vol. 3 Suicide Run (Review).

This Deathstroke series ends with this volume. However, Deathstroke’s adventures continue in Deathstroke Vol. 1: The Professional (Review).