Broken Frontier

Betrayals, double crosses, and triple crosses fill this issue. Can Bobby and Marcus get out of all this alive?

Steven Grant brings his noir/heist/government conspiracy drama to a close this issue. But does that mean the end for these characters?

A Mexican mafia don holds Bobby’s female partner hostage, the CIA is still gunning for both Bobby and Marcus, and Marcus is in the hands of the Military Police, accused of murdering his commanding officer. Could things get any worse? If Bobby and Marcus are going to get out of this alive they are going to have to wheel and deal, fight for their freedom, and follow the clues to the real mastermind behind this crime conspiracy. Where the trail leads them, though, may still have the ability to shock and surprise.

Boom! Studios has a reputation for choosing to publish properties that have a cinematic look, feel, or flavor and, as such, 2 Guns fits perfectly. The story has utilized many of the standard features of noir film, crime drama, and the old crime pulp magazines. Rather than merely regurgitating the stories, however, Grant has brought them into the 21st century with some modern ideas and twists. As the mini-series rumbles to a close and all the clues pile up, however, some of the weaknesses of the story appear. For one, the main villain comes as no real surprise since the clues to date have been rather obvious, for another, the complexity of the plot and range of characters almost require a scorecard or else that you go back and reread the whole story at one sitting. While the story is like a good Hollywood caper/action movie those movies rely on the fact that they only have to sustain the story for two hours. By stretching this series over five issues and five months some of the intensity seems to be lost and confusion easily creeps in. When read together the story runs much better, much faster, and with less confusion.

The art by Mat Santolouco is quite good but somehow never quite seems to mesh with the rest of the story. The cartoony nature, when merged with the bright colors from Popart Studio, seemed to distance this title a little too far from its cinematic and noir roots.

In final analysis, while 2 Guns is an entertaining read for the modern noir/mystery/caper/government conspiracy set it is definitely one for reading all at once or waiting for the trade.