REVIEW: The Vagabond #3

The third issue of this series, sees the story gain some traction as consistency comes to the forefront.

After rescuing a bunch of kids, The Vagabond takes them to an amusement park, with the intention of giving them all some good memories to replace the horrors of the previous issue.  The, like a one eyed version of The Littlest Hobo, he is off on his travels trying to put some distance between himself and the demons that haunt him.

Nathanael Hopkins-Smith does a great job on the script, the kids comments about their would be saviour seem like the type of comments that kids would make.  What also works well are the visions of reality, viewed through a couple of perspectives, that seem to drive not only him but also other characters in the book. What doesn’t work so well is the way in which their seems to be no rhyme or reason to the start of the next altercation or challenge.  Aimless wandering as a plot device does tend to engender convenience, which may spread the aura of believability a tad thin at times.

Luisa Russo provides the art for the book and I ‘m please to see her work again.  The different art styles between the first two issues was jarring, maybe on purpose to signify the start of the characters journey, with Russo’s clean lines going someway to show a potential transition or least a certain level of comfort for the main character.  Panel wise, there are some clever touches when the different perception come into play.  Using the same page structure helps the reader join the dots.

Looking back on the series as whole, so far, you can certainly see how Hopkins-Smith’s confidence has grown as The Vagabond takes on his various challenges.  This coupled with consistent artwork has improved the series no end.  Hopefully future issues will continue this improvement.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

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

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