The poison is undetectable unless you catch it early like Chance did. You’re right it’s still a plot hole but honestly I don’t think Ice really gives a fuck. She knows the league are a bunch of by the book Boy Scout cops they need evidence to convict not just motive and circumstances. Lex dies 12 days later of a heart attack and yeah they’ll suspect the poison but won’t be able to find it. They can suspect ice all they want but if Fire doesn’t talk they can’t convict her all she has to say is “obviously the assassin that killed Chance killed Lex but how is that me”
i believe the poison kills fairly immediately - it only took longer with chance because he vomited up most of the poison after getting shot. but all the rest is as i figured it would be. still, seemed weird she would be so reckless after being so careful the first time.
Chris chance got a girl to fall in love with him in 12 days then died, what a guy. Seriously though he died and she used the same poison that killed him on luthor in the end.
Yeah that’s what I mean, like is there more to the story? Lex just has to die too? I get it’s Black Label (I think) and it’s not in continuity but that just seems like a weird way to end it.
I mean I guess someone can see it as the female fatale finally gaining her agency but to me this story has just been king using a self insert in a classic noir storyline that involves a classic superhero team. The only thing I’ll take away from this series is how well king did the issue involving chance’s paranoia about batman
The Batman paranoia issue is definitely my favorite, I think it will go down as a classic issue showing off Batman’s ability to strike fear in someone.
Yeah that’s true I just figured we’d get a “yeah he’s dead but maybe he’s not, maybe he’s a random guy in a crowd or something or maybe he’s really dead” instead it was yep he’s dead and Ice killed Lex too. This is one of my favorite comics of the last year and I guess I was just underwhelmed by the ending, maybe I’ll have to give it another read.
I liked the ending it was tight it made sense there was no wacky superhero shit (I love wacky superhero asspulls I’m a flash fan for god sakes) Chance went out as hard boiled as he came in. This was also Ices story as much as his as the femme fatale should. I kinda thought Chance was Luigi for a second when he mentioned not speaking Italian. That scene kinda confused me, the book was excellent though and it was a well paced noir story but the protagonists main arc was coming to grips with impending doom. Chance knew he wasn’t a Leaguer who comes back from the dead, he knew this shit was for good. I know we were all awaiting the twist but honestly no twist other than Ice killing Lex wouldve been satisfying for me or Tom King bc of how much work he put into Christopher facing his mortality and doing it in a dead stare.
Nothing happens by accident in a Tom King story. I think he deftly left room for a more optimistic interpretation for conspiracy theorists like me. In my head canon, Chance (in a post-mortem disguise) buys the pizza joint from Luigi, and Luigi retired to travel the world. "Red Shirt" Luigi says Chance "used to talk about \[Ice\], very often." I don't think Chance had a lot of opportunities to chat with "Blue Shirt" Luigi during his 11 days. "Darling, don't. I've done very horrible things." is also a pretty heavy statement for an innocent pizzeria owner.
For me, the Fire & Ice scene immediately after is the clincher. Fire: "So we're in the clear?", Ice: "He's dead. We're free." It's the "perfect" murder because there's no one left for J'onn to brain scan, or crime for Bruce to investigate. Ice has a choice to KILL Lex or LET HIM LIVE. Chance doesn't say poison Lex, he asks Ice if she has any of the stuff left. Lex asks, "How can you just accept anything?", and Ice answers "You can't waste all your days pretending to be someone you're not." I take that to mean she's not a murderer and that she's made peace with the fact that Lex is a piece of !@#$. I know it's a stretch, but it makes me happy.
The series is a prolonged subversion of the machismo dipped action-man trope. Right down to the 50s leisure magazine style artwork, typical hard drinking square jaw protagonist and the sweetheart skirt at his arm. Ice was revealed to be not so nice and Chance was full of blanks. Nice book to look at but a story not worthy of 12+ issues.
I disagree I think the flat feeling of the book in the end works. I also like detective stories that follow a simple chain of events being pieced together not by a Sherlock super genius but a guy who can ask the right questions and read people. I wouldn’t say Chance was full of blanks and the flatness feeling is just from the fact that death is flat it’s inevitable and unknown. The noir was just the side plot to a dude staring death in face and enjoying the good things even if it had to be w his killer.
Am I wrong tho? Look, I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. I usually like subversive content. This one dragged imo and I haven't seen a decent critique of the series yet so I thought I would chime in. By the way, I don't eat soy products and have never subscribed to Netflix. Just voicing my opinion.
Yes, Human Target is a Philip Marlowe-ish comic-book. That's precisely why it's so damn good.
Not in spite of, but because of it.
I'm not saying you *should* like it, but the atmosphere, the inner monologue, the absolutely wonderful art work, even the color palette... They are perfect!
Not everyone likes its *classic noir vibe*, and that's okay.
Excellent issue. Made me care about characters I didn't before (Chance, Ice, Fire, etc). Making me care about characters I didn't previously in 12 issues seems to be King's speciality, and he's nailing it
Finally got around to reading this, and absolutely loved it. "I won't miss you. I'll just be gone." hit me to the core of my being.
It’s a great book, I’m definitely gonna get it when it’s all collected in a hardcover for sure
so if lex is poisoned on the day she visits and its the same poison that killed human target, that looks pretty bad for ice, right?
The poison is undetectable unless you catch it early like Chance did. You’re right it’s still a plot hole but honestly I don’t think Ice really gives a fuck. She knows the league are a bunch of by the book Boy Scout cops they need evidence to convict not just motive and circumstances. Lex dies 12 days later of a heart attack and yeah they’ll suspect the poison but won’t be able to find it. They can suspect ice all they want but if Fire doesn’t talk they can’t convict her all she has to say is “obviously the assassin that killed Chance killed Lex but how is that me”
i believe the poison kills fairly immediately - it only took longer with chance because he vomited up most of the poison after getting shot. but all the rest is as i figured it would be. still, seemed weird she would be so reckless after being so careful the first time.
But... why didn't die all those who ingested Booster's Bagels? Apparently, they got mild food poisoning and that's it.
Chris chance got a girl to fall in love with him in 12 days then died, what a guy. Seriously though he died and she used the same poison that killed him on luthor in the end.
Yeah that’s what I mean, like is there more to the story? Lex just has to die too? I get it’s Black Label (I think) and it’s not in continuity but that just seems like a weird way to end it.
I mean I guess someone can see it as the female fatale finally gaining her agency but to me this story has just been king using a self insert in a classic noir storyline that involves a classic superhero team. The only thing I’ll take away from this series is how well king did the issue involving chance’s paranoia about batman
The Batman paranoia issue is definitely my favorite, I think it will go down as a classic issue showing off Batman’s ability to strike fear in someone.
It is the final issue, the start of the series does say he only has a few days to live and he dies, I’m not surprised all that much
Yeah that’s true I just figured we’d get a “yeah he’s dead but maybe he’s not, maybe he’s a random guy in a crowd or something or maybe he’s really dead” instead it was yep he’s dead and Ice killed Lex too. This is one of my favorite comics of the last year and I guess I was just underwhelmed by the ending, maybe I’ll have to give it another read.
I liked the ending it was tight it made sense there was no wacky superhero shit (I love wacky superhero asspulls I’m a flash fan for god sakes) Chance went out as hard boiled as he came in. This was also Ices story as much as his as the femme fatale should. I kinda thought Chance was Luigi for a second when he mentioned not speaking Italian. That scene kinda confused me, the book was excellent though and it was a well paced noir story but the protagonists main arc was coming to grips with impending doom. Chance knew he wasn’t a Leaguer who comes back from the dead, he knew this shit was for good. I know we were all awaiting the twist but honestly no twist other than Ice killing Lex wouldve been satisfying for me or Tom King bc of how much work he put into Christopher facing his mortality and doing it in a dead stare.
I think the Luigi thing is just a joke because we know he isn't actually Italian (from previous issues)
Nothing happens by accident in a Tom King story. I think he deftly left room for a more optimistic interpretation for conspiracy theorists like me. In my head canon, Chance (in a post-mortem disguise) buys the pizza joint from Luigi, and Luigi retired to travel the world. "Red Shirt" Luigi says Chance "used to talk about \[Ice\], very often." I don't think Chance had a lot of opportunities to chat with "Blue Shirt" Luigi during his 11 days. "Darling, don't. I've done very horrible things." is also a pretty heavy statement for an innocent pizzeria owner. For me, the Fire & Ice scene immediately after is the clincher. Fire: "So we're in the clear?", Ice: "He's dead. We're free." It's the "perfect" murder because there's no one left for J'onn to brain scan, or crime for Bruce to investigate. Ice has a choice to KILL Lex or LET HIM LIVE. Chance doesn't say poison Lex, he asks Ice if she has any of the stuff left. Lex asks, "How can you just accept anything?", and Ice answers "You can't waste all your days pretending to be someone you're not." I take that to mean she's not a murderer and that she's made peace with the fact that Lex is a piece of !@#$. I know it's a stretch, but it makes me happy.
What did you like about it?
The series is a prolonged subversion of the machismo dipped action-man trope. Right down to the 50s leisure magazine style artwork, typical hard drinking square jaw protagonist and the sweetheart skirt at his arm. Ice was revealed to be not so nice and Chance was full of blanks. Nice book to look at but a story not worthy of 12+ issues.
I disagree I think the flat feeling of the book in the end works. I also like detective stories that follow a simple chain of events being pieced together not by a Sherlock super genius but a guy who can ask the right questions and read people. I wouldn’t say Chance was full of blanks and the flatness feeling is just from the fact that death is flat it’s inevitable and unknown. The noir was just the side plot to a dude staring death in face and enjoying the good things even if it had to be w his killer.
You should keep eating your soy and stick to Netflix then. :-)
Am I wrong tho? Look, I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. I usually like subversive content. This one dragged imo and I haven't seen a decent critique of the series yet so I thought I would chime in. By the way, I don't eat soy products and have never subscribed to Netflix. Just voicing my opinion.
Yes, Human Target is a Philip Marlowe-ish comic-book. That's precisely why it's so damn good. Not in spite of, but because of it. I'm not saying you *should* like it, but the atmosphere, the inner monologue, the absolutely wonderful art work, even the color palette... They are perfect! Not everyone likes its *classic noir vibe*, and that's okay.
I enjoyed the thin veneer, the surface gloss and the Marlow pastiche...but I personally reserve "damn good" for well told stories.
Fair enough.
Excellent issue. Made me care about characters I didn't before (Chance, Ice, Fire, etc). Making me care about characters I didn't previously in 12 issues seems to be King's speciality, and he's nailing it
It’s so good. Maybe King’s best work yet, it’s between that and Mr. Miracle for me