The Human Target by King & Smallwood vol. 2

Christopher Chance has twelve days to live.  We found this out in vol. 1 after he drank a poison drink that was meant for Lex Luthor.  His investigation into who sent Luthor that drink has led to an eccentric list of suspects:  The entirety of the Justice League International.  Chance has already been able to rule out the likes of Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and the Martian Manhunter, but his newfound relationship with League member Ice has aroused the ire of another member, the perpetually hotheaded Guy Gardner.  In fact, Guy is so incensed about this that Chance and Ice wound up freezing and smashing him to bits at the end of the previous volume.  A development which will, no doubt, complicate the investigation.

Greg Smallwood’s art may have a perpetually sunny disposition to its stylish nature, but he and writer Tom King are definitely telling us a noir-influenced story here.  Characters whose moral natures are compromised.  Lies that flow as freely as the alcohol here.  The sense that we’re in a world where bad deeds go unpunished.  All the familiar tropes are here with the ticking clock of Chance’s impending death being the icing on the cake.

While there’s familiarity to the story here, both in how it plays out and wraps up, King and Smallwood make the proceedings entertaining enough that it winds up not being an issue.  The issue-by-issue interrogation of the JLI is even thrown for a loop by Gardner’s death after issue #7, and the use of Batman in the story is exceptionally clever.  Still, the heart of the story is the burgeoning romance between Chance and Ice and the creators pull that off well, with the tragedy ringing true at the end of it.  I really don’t think this story lends itself to a sequel, but I do hope to see more collaborations from King and Smallwood, as well as some renewed interest in the title character within the DCU.