Monday, November 8, 2021

The Human Target #1

As part of DC's Black Label, the noir-ish The Human Target #1 opens with the death of Christopher Chance in an empty hotel room before jumping back a dozen days to Chance playing the role of Lex Luthor at a LexCorp press event where a terrorist will inevitably attempt to make an attempt on the life of his client.

The sequence, beautifully rendered by artist Greg Smallwood, works well as an introduction to Chance's line of work by taking the place of his client and putting himself in danger. As the title suggests, Chance makes his life as a Human Target.

The sequence, narrated by Chance, also keys us into a few aspects of an older Chance, less carefree than his early days, and less discerning on his choice of clientele. And that may have just gotten him killed.

The real story is the poisoning of Chance (playing Luther) earlier that morning. Was the poison meant for Luther? And, if so, who (of the villain's many, many enemies) wants him dead? That's the mystery he has only 12 days to solve before his death from a poison so exotic even the Justice League can't save him from. However, Dr. Mid-Nite does give him a lead on where the poison came from, a very interesting lead indeed.

[DC, $4.99]

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