Review: The Silencer Vol. 3- Up in Smoke

Quick Summary

Pros: The book’s action is thrilling in most places, particularly in the book’s finale. The way the story progresses and concludes works for the series.

Cons: Some of the plot points are just alright or are underutilized. The artwork is lackluster.

Overall: This volume brings The Silencer series to a close in a way that mostly works. It has an epic final fight, some well-executed emotional moments, and a conclusion that suits the overall progression of the series well. The downside is that some chapters are just alright and that the artwork is generally lackluster. Readers who have read this series should definitely give this conclusion a shot.

Story

The final volume in The Silencer series isn’t the best example of what this comic can do but is still an entertaining journey that brings the series to a worthwhile conclusion. Most chapters in The Silencer Vol. 3: Up in Smoke, by Dan Abnett and V. Ken Marion, deliver on the levels of intensity fans have come to expect from this comic. This is particularly true in the volume’s second half, which features one of the comic’s most epic fight scenes and brings the whole series to a close. However, there are also a few places where the fighting is more generic than before. Overall though, this volume preforms well and is another solid entry in this series.

(spoilers start here)

The first half of Up in Smoke has Silencer working for Talia and Leviathan while her husband deals with her mysterious “death”. This brings in the action and suspense that this series has become known for while also including a bit more emotion than before. However, the fights here are also more generic than before and some interesting plot points are left underexplored. It feels like something more interesting could have been done with Raze’s connection to Silencer or with Silencer’s reaction to learning she was created through genetic experimentation but, instead, Raze is quickly killed and Silencer’s reaction to this revelation is passed by almost immediately.

Things improve a bit as the narrative has Silencer return home in order to protect her family from Smoke. The final battle between these two is probably the most intense battle this series has depicted. It involves plenty of Silencer’s typical tactics while also pulling out surprises baked into her home’s security system. Plus, since Silencer’s family is right there the whole time, there is an added element of suspense to the entire conflict.

The last chapter in Up in Smoke brings Silencer’s story to a close, at least for the moment. It doesn’t conclude by tying up all of the loose plot threads together perfectly, as the ending is a bit ambiguous instead of being straightforward happy or sad. However, I thought this worked well for Silencer’s specific story. It has her in a relatively safe position but also has her aware that her old enemies could pop up at any time. This gives the narrative a conclusion for now while also keeping it in a position where it could be reopened by future comics, which I would really like to see happen.

(spoilers end here)

Art

After two volumes of gorgeous visuals, it is a bit disappointing to see this level of quality drop in this comic’s final volume. V. Ken Marion’s artwork is bold and energetic in a way that suits this comic well. However, the level of detail and polish is noticeably less than it was in previous collections. In addition, there are places where bodily proportions feel off, with faces and limbs randomly stretching before returning back to normal. This creates a book that is passable in most places but unpleasant every now and then. In the end, the artwork in Up in Smoke isn’t downright bad but is disappointingly average.

Continuity

The Silencer Vol. 3: Up in Smoke continues the story from The Silencer Vol. 2: Hell-iday Road (Review).

The Silencer series ends with this volume and, as of now, does not directly continue in a specific comic.

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The volume’s final few chapters make references to internal problems within Leviathan, which is a major part of the Event Leviathan (Review) event. Talia’s part in these problems is detailed in Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1, collected in the main Event Leviathan (Review) collection.