Task Force Z #1
This is a big week for DC, with both Task Force Z and DC vs. Vampires kicking off. The latter started off well. But the same cannot be said for Task Force Z #1.
DC Comics
Written by: Matthew Rosenberg
Pencils by: Eddy Barrows
Inks by: Eber Ferreira
Colors by: Adriano Lucas
Letters by: Rob Leigh
It’s one thing to make Red Hood the leader of a group. That’s been done successfully before. But to make him the morally superior one of his team is a roll of the dice. As much as DC has the right idea with this influx of Red Hood content — Suicide Squad: Get Joker, Future State: Gotham, his leading story in Batman: Urban Legends and now Task Force Z — they continue to move away from the character being an anti-Batman. Sure, he still has his history of troublemaking, but he’s trying to move on from that with each story. Sure, that played with Chip Zdarsky’s story in Batman: Urban Legends, and Brian Azzarello is handling Red Hood well in Suicide Squad: Get Joker. But readers like this character because he’s not afraid to push the envelope in order to do what he believes is right.
After reading Task Force Z #1, it doesn’t feel like the character is going to be the problem child of this story. Instead, he’s babysitting a handful of Batman’s zombified villains. Again, I’m all for zombies and Red Hood, but this idea sounds far too familiar.
All that said, I’m not out on the story after the first issue. However, my expectations have dipped significantly.
As far as the art goes, the team of Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira and Adriano Lucas are the best part of the Task Force Z #1. Red Hood fans had already seen what this trio could do with the character in Batman: Urban Legends, and their work is at a similar level to start the series.
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