Review: Search for HU #4 (of 5)

The penultimate issue of this series finally sees Aaron Tse take sides against both elements of his heritage, with both crime factions looking too rid themselves of each other.

With the death of his mother, the house of Hu and Margolis are at each others throats. Thinking he was “in the moment”, the kicker is that Aaron has outlived his usefulness to the Margolis. With just one person he can trust, Aaron is now one step closer to his quest of revenge.

Writers Jon Tsuei and Steve Orlando have taken the idea of a crime family, similar to the Yakuza, and by splitting them in two distinct sides have actually given us a bad guy versus bad guy type of fight. Both aspects of Arron’s life aren’t great, yet he has the honour to do the right thing for the memory of his mother. Tsuei and Orlando ensure that the action moves apace ensuring that family drama is not the only focus. True, some of the dialogue can be a tad on the trope side, but to be honest I don’t mind that; after all, who doesn’t like a good crime family comeuppance? I have been hard on Orlando’s writing previously; I am thoroughly impressed with this book. Maybe moving away from multi media characters to work on more independent work is the way to go.

The art is provided by Rubine who seems to have a fascination for Ian Anthony Dale of Hawaii Five-0 fame, if the look of Aaron is anything to go by. Putting that aside, the action scenes have a kinetic feel to them, even if some of the facial elements of the characters can be a little off in some of the smaller panels; larger panels are much more successful. DC Alonso provides the colors in a style that lacks nuance. It may be that “in your face” was the intent, if so the goal is achieved. Carlos M. Mangual supplies a font that compliments the art by keeping things tight and at times a terse.

Is the book a masterpiece? No, probably not. Is the book fun? Yes, it most certainly is, and that is one of the reasons why we read and. love comics books!

Writing – 3.5 Stars

Art – 3.5 Stars

Colors – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Jon Tsuei & Steve Orlando
Art by; Rubine
Colors by; D.C Alonso
Letters by; Carlos M. Mangual
Published by; AfterShock Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network