There have been a wealth of comic stories dealing with the underworld over the years. The mob, mafia, maggia, street gangs- from Kingpins to street thugs- all have been fairly common antagonists for heroes who have sworn to protect a city against all lawlessness. Much more recently, the underworld has taken a central role in various titles, Ed Brubaker’s Sleeper notable among them.

It was not too long ago that comic book villains were really very one-dimensional. In super-hero comics at the very least, the antagonists were people who has sworn their lives to the pursuit of evil, the polar opposite of to the purity of social morality that the heroes strove to protect.

Of course, with the maturing of storytelling in comics, it is pretty rare that you find villains in comic books who are really driven towards committing evil acts for the sake of evil. Probably the closest example of this today is the Joker- who does some truly nasty things, but even he does not act for the cause of evil. He does so because he thinks they are funny.

The “moral middle-ground” therefore quite naturally becomes the common ground that both protagonists and antagonists alike to tend to lie in these days. The Silencers are a group of super-powered individuals in the employ of a mafia group known as the “Provenzanos,” who are struggling to maintain control of the drug trade in New York City. Thirty years ago, these characters could be nothing but villains. In this day and age, they are the protagonists of the story, even though they are on the wrong side of the law.

Cast of Characters

Fiore Calvino, or “Cardinal” is the leader of the Silencers, and possesses powers of “electric touch.” He is a devout Catholic who spent some time in jail following a botched job. While in prison, he studies to get a degree (Landscape Design) and decided to leave “the business” after leaving prison to open a flower shop. The Provenzanos did not like this idea, however, and insisted that he remain to take charge of a new group of Silencers, at least until his debt to them was repaid.

Stiletto is a character vaguely similar to an X-Man- she can project a psychic blade. This blade is very tangible, however, and is a very dangerous weapon. She began her time with the Provenzanos as a naïve child. She began a relationship with Kid Chaos, another Silencer, and from there she grew into her role of a super-powered Provenzano protector.

Euphoria is something of a debutante, and a powerful psychic. She shares none of the inhibitions that other similar characters (Like Professor X, for example) in other comics possess- she is more than willing to tamper with the free will of her victims if the situation demands it.

Hairtrigger would be best described as a hothead- probably a very natural personality trait that a “speedster” would possess. He thinks rashly and dislikes the often required patience of strategy. He would just assume take on the “tights,” or superheroes, when they arrive to bust up their operations, even when sound strategy dictates that they should move on before the hero ever arrives. Recent evens have caused him to tone down his temper a bit, however.

Missile 21 is basically a large man in metallic armor (like a football player’s gear) who happens to be able to fly. A pretty simple character, but considering his role in the group, a more complex one is really not necessary.

Nil is a mysterious being who is described as “Living Darkness.” He is a loner, and does not normally interact or begin missions with the team, but has an uncanny knack of popping up exactly when he is needed.
Thoughts

The Silencers was surprisingly good, to be completely honest. I was expecting a pretty solid crime drama (with a splash of superheroics), but the twists and turns this book took right out of the gate were handled so well I was taken aback.

“High-octane” is not an adjective I like to use when describing a title very often, it is way overused and often means nothing more than “gratuitous violence inside!” But The Silencers is worthy of such a potent-sounding description. Sure there are moments of violence, that is the nature of the world the characters live in, but the way in which their lives are thrown completely in shambles so suddenly and so mysteriously really grabs you.

The character exposition early on is obvious but very well handled. A lot of comic fans really hate it when characters are so obviously being explained for the benefit of the reader (“Come on man, no one talks like that!”). Personally, I like it. As I said in a previous column, when you are presenting a group of brand-new comic characters to a readership, it is extremely important that they understand the characters involved as soon as possible. For a company like Moonstone, it is doubly important. Marvel can throw a book out there and allow for time for initial character build because they have the money and reputation to draw the readership. Smaller companies rely heavily on short-term sales for new titles, and have to grab an audience for a title as fast as possible. As such, they need to hook readers by giving as much information as possible about key characters, to make the reader care enough to know what happens. As such, I can forgive a degree of “choppy exposition” in the early issues of a small-press title. It is expected and desired and I am glad for it.

Shifting alliances are another reason this rapid character development is necessary. As I explained before, this title is “high-octane,” and as such, things happen very quickly. They do an excellent job of developing a character just enough so that when they make a surprising decision, or elect to jump sides, it is impactful and meaningful. In a short three issues of The Silencers, twice I have been stunned and impressed with a shocking twist that would be virtually meaningless if I had not understood the character enough to care. I have to applaud Ellis and Van Lente- they crafted a story that totally blindsided my twice in three issues- something I consider hard to do as I am usually a careful reader!

There are great similarities between this book and a book like Sleeper. Both are in an underworld setting in a world where super-powers are a reality. One aspect of this title I particularly liked was the intelligent behavior of the “criminals.” Though the so-called Tights never make an appearance, careful steps are taken to avoid coming in contact with superheroes, who are viewed as nothing more than cops. That is a hallmark of a more mature standard in storytelling that is common in comics today- and harkens back to what I was discussing earlier. Rather than living solely to defeat their polar opposite hero, this group of criminals would just assume have nothing to do with that potential threat. I really enjoy that tidbit of realism.

Bottom Line

This book re-affirms the value of the Small Press to me. The Silencers would fit just fine into the line-up of a much larger publisher. It is just as good in both art and story to similar products that the “big boys” put out, yet it suffers do to lack of exposure. I’ll never understand why the worst of Marvel’s product line outsell books like these that are far superior in every way. Kind of makes me want to work just a little bit harder to get you all to check out titles like this one.

On the whole, this is an impressive outing from Moonstone, who is just starting to delve into the “comic format” book- I am looking forward to reading more of this title. For those of you looking for a sample, Part 1 of issue #1 can be read for free online. As to new issues, issue #4 is due out on shelves soon, and a collected edition of the first two issues is in the works, and should be out sometime next month. I really feel this title is worth a peak, and seeing as a free sample of the first issue is available, you have nothing to lose.

Credit where credit is due-

The Silencers is
Written by Fred Van Lente,
Penciled by Steve Ellis,
and Colored by Dae Lim Yoo and Kurt Marquart.

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