Dark Circle Comics 2017
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Illustrated by Greg Scott
Coloured by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Lettered by Rachel Deering
Greg Hettinger, the current Black Hood, and Kip Burland, the original Black Hood, have
come together to take down the assassin The Nobody once and for all. But at what cost?
For years, Kip Burland was hot on the heels of The Nobody, until the trail led him to Philadelphia—where he was shot in the head by Hettinger, then a patrol cop on duty. Burland
survived thanks to his bullet-proof hood, but his friends in law enforcement put word out
that he had succumbed to his injuries for his own personal protection. Once Greg took up
the mantle as the new Black Hood, he landed on the unhinged Nobody’s radar.
Burland and Hettinger are now forced to join forces to take out The Nobody. Unfortunately, the ruthless killer has kidnapped Jessie Dupree, Greg’s only remaining friend. Time is ticking for both masked vigilantes. Can they save Jessie and themselves before it’s too late?
Well I will say this much this series continues to blow my mind. Duane brought back Kip and I thought okay so what’s going to happen now? I mean is Kip the kind of hero to have used Greg to distract Nobody while he recuperated and found his strength to fight back? Would he leave him to the wolves that has become his life after fighting so hard to beat the drugs and get clean? I didn’t know and that thrilled me. I mean c’mon you’ve got the original and the pretender and we’ve gotten to the know the latter in ways that well make him mean more to us than the original ever could. For now.
The level of writing, story development, pacing and characterisation from Duane in this series has been nothing short of absolutely astonishing. It’s been one thrill ride after another as we see Greg wrestle with his demons that have touched us as readers in ways that almost make him one our dearest friends or relatives. Yes it’s that realistic to see what he’s going through that he feels like that person in our lives who we know, love and support for having to go through it themselves. I don’t recall the last time a writer got his readers to connect with a character on every single level possible.
Then there’s Greg whose work on the interiors here keeps showing the world what an underrated and underused artist he is. The attention to detail is beyond measure, the mood, tone and feel of this gritty dark crime noir style that he brings to life is mesmerising. The way the work flows through the page layouts utilising angles, perspective and backgrounds make this seem like it moves faster than it does and gives us a more complete picture of what’s happening all around them. The linework is clean, strong and establishes emotions and feelings through facial expressions and body language like it’s been mastered by the best.
I love that these seasons of the Black Hood keep coming and I’m hoping that they don’t end. Whether we’ll get Kip or Greg it doesn’t matter to me so long as Duane and Greg are the ones to bring their adventure to life. Plus the cliffhanger style ending here yeah we know this isn’t over so it’s like sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next installment and that’s when you know the series is an elite among the elite.