Review - Vatican Assassin #4

It's only fitting with a new Pope being selected that the Vatican Assassin get relatively high billing as well. While Vatican Assassin #4 from Glow in the Dark Radio isn't quite as momentous, it does complete the series.

The issue is written by Mike Luoma and illustrated by Christian Navarro.

BC – Bernard Campion – The Vatican Assassin – returns to Lunar Prime just in time to run into an old flame – Fiza – who’s nothing but trouble. And the war between the Universal Islamic Nation and Universal Trade Zone is flaring up as well. BC will find that surviving both old girlfriends and new skirmishes in space is not easy to accomplish.

The conclusion to the series by Luoma wraps everything up rather nicely. BC is pitted against his fair share of obstacles in the issue, ensuring the reader knows that he's more than capable of handling them. There's a slight disjointed feeling in the dialogue though, as there are some parts where words just feel disconnected. It's almost as if the characters are speaking in staccato, which doesn't really help the book flow very well. Otherwise, the story is actually pretty interesting.

Navarro's art is a good fit for the story. It's black and white, which seems to work well for a work about a Vatican Assassin. The panel layouts are fairly standard, but there are some scenes depicting pretty intense space battles, which is something you can never have too much of. Luoma's lettering has a pulpy feel to it as well, helping the book call back on a different time in comics.

If you've read the series to this point, Vatican Assassin #4 resolves everything nicely. Fiza is nothing but trouble, which doesn't stop BC from getting tangled up in her affairs. The art has a grainy finish on it that also helps the book reach back to a different time. It's a good finish the series, despite some dialogue choppiness.

Vatican Assassin #4 is available now.