Review:
Domino and a double-sized crew of battle-ready ladies must bury their competing interests and loyalties, band together and bond as a team, all in time to stop a cosmic-level artifact from falling into the wrong hands.
From a minor character in the world of Cable and X-Force, Domino and her mutant power of psychic probability manipulation - the power of Luck - emerged into a handful of solo mini-series and brief ongoing ones, including this 2019 five-issue mini-series collected in these pages.
She and her sidekicks Cowgirl (with her super-strength) and Diamondback (with her explosive powers) are decidedly down-to-earth in their interests and abilities - hardly the types you would normally put into a tale with such cosmic themes and a key role played by the Celestials. But that is exactly what Gail Simone gives us here. Looking at her history as an author, cosmic stories are not her wheelhouse, but strong female heroes definitely are, as seen in some of her other work, such as on Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey and Red Sonja.
It is the interactions, tensions and bonding of the women at the centre of this story that is the real strength. Domino, Cowgirl and Diamondback are joined in their quest by Black Widow, exhibiting an on-again, off-again, love-hate relationship with her Avengers teammates, as well as White Fox and Atlas Bear. It makes for a potent mix of nationalities, continents, loyalties and secrets. As a group, they do not hit it off immediately, and Simone draws out the tension through almost the entire run.
Deadpool makes an extended appearance in a comic-relief role; Tony Stark is portrayed as a distant, arrogant billionaire Avenger who deigns to send his drones to assist / keep an eye on the women.
These low-powered, down-to-earth heroes seem far outmatched by the challenges and powers facing them. Simone never quite manages to bridge this divide. Nor does the Luck power of our title character play much of a role, despite Black Widow's insistence and mentorship. And the celestial-level threat of the "Creation Constellation" remains too under-developed. Why is this such a threat and danger? We get hints and pieces only, it never fully settles into a chilling bigger picture.
What Simone does give us is an endless run of cleverly written dialog. The relationships and fun in the midst of danger makes for plenty of smiles while reading these pages.
David Baldeon's art is uninspiring. The marketing proclaims a tale with a whole troupe of hot women, but that selling angle was never communicated to the man making the visuals. The panels lean too much on excessive inking to tell us of the growing control the Creation Constellation is exerting over different characters. And the close-up facial expressions lack punch.
The book carries a "Parental Advisory" rating, which seems excessive. There is no sex or nudity or even revealing poses and angles; even the cussing uses the classic comics code of asterisks and symbols. There is, I suppose, a little off panel canoodling between Deadpool and Diamondback, but overall, this is a pretty safe read for young eyes.
Description:
Bully, brawler, mercenary, spies! The Marvel Universe's hottest new team is on the scene! When Domino and her pals Outlaw and Diamondback find themselves caught between warring nations, they'll have to call on a whole new crew of international women of mystery - including the Black Widow - to sort it out! But can the newly minted Hotshots survive the arrival of the Merc with a Mouth? Picture it: six undercover, highly trained, armed-to-the-teeth women hunting a device from space that will change life as we know it - but when Deadpool crashes the party, more than just the mission might be blown sky high! The immense power of the Creation Constellation will soon be in reach! But the only thing standing between Domino's squad and its power is…one another! Which of these knockouts is gonna get knocked out?!
Collects: Domino: Hotshots #1-5
Authors: Gail Simone
Artists: David Baldeon
Published By: Marvel Universe
Published When: Sept. 10, 2019
Parental Rating: Parental Advisory
ISBN: 978-1302918330
Pages: 112 pages
No comments:
Post a Comment