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Absolution #1
Absolution, Vol. 1
A costumed hero sanctioned by the police, John Dusk has seen too many horrors, and begins to hunt and kill criminals in secret. It's the crime drama "Dexter" for the superhero set, as he wrestles to maintain his murderous double life!
In the world of ABSOLUTION, superheroes are a sanctioned arm of law enforcement, too precious a commodity to take off the line, to recover from the stress of the job. Veteran hero John Dusk has seen too much evil, and too many scumbags escape justice. One day, he crosses the line, lets a murderer die... and discovers it feels good. Surrounded by sociopaths, both human and superhuman, whom he knows will prey on others if they're not stopped permanently, how far will Dusk go? Can he hide his lethal brand of justice from his teammates and girlfriend, a homicide detective? John Dusk wants to be forgiven... but he doesn't want to stop.
In the world of ABSOLUTION, superheroes are a sanctioned arm of law enforcement, too precious a commodity to take off the line, to recover from the stress of the job. Veteran hero John Dusk has seen too much evil, and too many scumbags escape justice. One day, he crosses the line, lets a murderer die... and discovers it feels good. Surrounded by sociopaths, both human and superhuman, whom he knows will prey on others if they're not stopped permanently, how far will Dusk go? Can he hide his lethal brand of justice from his teammates and girlfriend, a homicide detective? John Dusk wants to be forgiven... but he doesn't want to stop.
192 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2006
46 people want to read
About the author
Christos Gage
1,533 books127 followersChris N. Gage is a writer for comic books and television.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 16, 2017
This was extremely entertaining. Disturbing sometimes, little silly, but damn fine entertainment.
So Absolution is about a man who's a superhero who has had enough of the bullshit. He works with the police force to stop criminals. Except one day he stumbles upon a guy who is murdering children and replacing their body parts with toy doll parts. It's sick, it's disgusting, and he's had enough. John Dusk is living a broken life, not able to sleep because he sees the death of children and rapes and more from these criminals actions. So in killing these people he's able to be at peace with himself. However, he trying his best to stay off the radar of the cops, a lead detective being his girlfriend.
Good: The storyline is interesting. It doesn't paint either one as the right thing to do. Kill the worse of the worse? Sure the hero of the story believes that, the public does, but others do not. I like the balance, the message, and even the internal struggle between different characters. I also thought the pacing was really nice, quick, and worked well. The design of most of the heroes and villains was also pretty solid.
Bad: The art could be a little wonky and feel very stiff. I also thought the kitty happy person was useless, dumb, and overly sexual for no other reason than panty shots. The dumbest part by far.
Overall though this was a ton of fun. It doesn't cover new ground but it does do it pretty damn well. I enjoyed the cast, the dialog, and the pacing a lot. Besides some stiff art and one horrible character the graphic novel was highly entertaining. A 3.5 out of 5, bump to a 4.
So Absolution is about a man who's a superhero who has had enough of the bullshit. He works with the police force to stop criminals. Except one day he stumbles upon a guy who is murdering children and replacing their body parts with toy doll parts. It's sick, it's disgusting, and he's had enough. John Dusk is living a broken life, not able to sleep because he sees the death of children and rapes and more from these criminals actions. So in killing these people he's able to be at peace with himself. However, he trying his best to stay off the radar of the cops, a lead detective being his girlfriend.
Good: The storyline is interesting. It doesn't paint either one as the right thing to do. Kill the worse of the worse? Sure the hero of the story believes that, the public does, but others do not. I like the balance, the message, and even the internal struggle between different characters. I also thought the pacing was really nice, quick, and worked well. The design of most of the heroes and villains was also pretty solid.
Bad: The art could be a little wonky and feel very stiff. I also thought the kitty happy person was useless, dumb, and overly sexual for no other reason than panty shots. The dumbest part by far.
Overall though this was a ton of fun. It doesn't cover new ground but it does do it pretty damn well. I enjoyed the cast, the dialog, and the pacing a lot. Besides some stiff art and one horrible character the graphic novel was highly entertaining. A 3.5 out of 5, bump to a 4.
October 29, 2013
When reading Absolution, one could say that the book is just the Punisher with super-powers. And maybe it is a little bit, but at its heart the book is about a man and what he deems truth. After everything, what does anything come down to except one man’s beliefs, your own beliefs? Everyone does what they believe to be true, whether right or wrong. Sometimes it can be very wrong, otherwise there would not be laws to govern criminals, but oftentimes we do what we deem to be right. John Dusk, the hero of our book, does the same.
John Dusk is a super-hero, or an ‘enhancile’ who can generate an aura to create whatever shape or form he so chooses and in turn uses it while working for the police department. He has a girlfriend named Karen, who is also a detective, and they work in the same department which only handles the worst of the worst cases, usually involving other enhanciles. Soon, John is unable to leave his work at the station as the memories of the gruesome crimes start to haunt him and he slowly begins to go mad until he finds an outlet for his nightmares.
In the zero issue of this series, Christos Gage, the author, wrote that he intended the book to be a sort of Special Victims Unit drama, as he wrote for the show, but with the added foil of some cops having powers. Due to his great storytelling ability, that is exactly what we got. He looks at the psychological ramifications of what might happen and he then explores it through his protagonist, John Dusk. John is a good guy and he knows wrong from right. But sometimes, the law just is not enough. And so, like Paul Kersey or Frank Castle, John sets off to do what he believes is right.
Gage also speaks to and of society somewhat at the same time in this story. While we have laws and rules to govern our people and society, sometimes when bad things happen to us, we cannot help but wish the worst upon the perpetrators of our misery. If a man kills your child or wife, you wish that man dead. If someone breaks your legs or harms you gravely, you in turn wish him harm. It is simple human nature and no matter how much we believe ourselves to be above such base feelings, they exist. Gage does a great job exploring those emotions and really exemplifies it during one of the closing scenes in the last book with the public cheering for our hero as he escapes.
Overall, it is a pretty straightforward story, but one that goes a bit deeper than what we initially might believe it to be. Those are the best kinds of tales, the ones that surprise and delight us when we discover the hidden layers beneath. Christos Gage takes the vigilante concept, the super-hero idea and the police drama, adds his own spin on it and gives us a fantastic book about one man who underneath it all, represents every one of us.
http://thetelltalemind.com/2013/10/27...
John Dusk is a super-hero, or an ‘enhancile’ who can generate an aura to create whatever shape or form he so chooses and in turn uses it while working for the police department. He has a girlfriend named Karen, who is also a detective, and they work in the same department which only handles the worst of the worst cases, usually involving other enhanciles. Soon, John is unable to leave his work at the station as the memories of the gruesome crimes start to haunt him and he slowly begins to go mad until he finds an outlet for his nightmares.
In the zero issue of this series, Christos Gage, the author, wrote that he intended the book to be a sort of Special Victims Unit drama, as he wrote for the show, but with the added foil of some cops having powers. Due to his great storytelling ability, that is exactly what we got. He looks at the psychological ramifications of what might happen and he then explores it through his protagonist, John Dusk. John is a good guy and he knows wrong from right. But sometimes, the law just is not enough. And so, like Paul Kersey or Frank Castle, John sets off to do what he believes is right.
Gage also speaks to and of society somewhat at the same time in this story. While we have laws and rules to govern our people and society, sometimes when bad things happen to us, we cannot help but wish the worst upon the perpetrators of our misery. If a man kills your child or wife, you wish that man dead. If someone breaks your legs or harms you gravely, you in turn wish him harm. It is simple human nature and no matter how much we believe ourselves to be above such base feelings, they exist. Gage does a great job exploring those emotions and really exemplifies it during one of the closing scenes in the last book with the public cheering for our hero as he escapes.
Overall, it is a pretty straightforward story, but one that goes a bit deeper than what we initially might believe it to be. Those are the best kinds of tales, the ones that surprise and delight us when we discover the hidden layers beneath. Christos Gage takes the vigilante concept, the super-hero idea and the police drama, adds his own spin on it and gives us a fantastic book about one man who underneath it all, represents every one of us.
http://thetelltalemind.com/2013/10/27...
August 27, 2015
You've seen the quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
That's this story in a nutshell. We've seen this tale before, but sometimes the pieces fit together perfectly and it feels right. Sometimes the formula just works.
John Dusk is a superpowered cop who has an "aura" he can manipulate mentally. It rather looks like an opaque blue version of The Invisible Woman's force fields (or Green Lantern's power ring if he's more your style), so we're familiar with it from the jump. Gage isn't reinventing the wheel here.
This story could work quite well without the superpower aspect. Giving the cops superpowers is simply the sugar to help the medicine go down. This is a nicely lean and tidy story that gets its message across efficiently and well.
The dialogue is really good, the art is solid and the structure flows easily, all of it sweeping you along. Yes, it is a power fantasy, and with the current state of police killing unarmed black men in America, it can be troubling once you step back from it. But this is a story told in absolutes, where the morality is black and white, but as one of the TV talking head characters says in the book, "In the abstract I agree cops shouldn't take the law into their own hands, but in this specific instance I say 'Bravo!'"
In the real world, this would be troubling, but I get the impulse to punish the kind of sickos we hear about every day. This week we've seen Subway spokesman Jared Fogel arrested for child pornography and having sex with minors. Josh Duggar, who molested four little girls, was outed in the Ashley Madison scandal. And this morning I saw the video of two Virginia reporters being gunned down on live television, the 24-year-old girl screaming in terror as she was shot and killed, her murderer live-Tweeting the murders.
So today I want to see these sick bastards punished, which is certainly why this is striking a chord. The odd things was, I just picked this out of my to-read pile at random, knowing nothing about it.
Once I regain my equilibrium I'll prefer a story that has shades of gray to it. Where John Dusk kills a guy who maybe didn't deserve it. But not today.
That's this story in a nutshell. We've seen this tale before, but sometimes the pieces fit together perfectly and it feels right. Sometimes the formula just works.
John Dusk is a superpowered cop who has an "aura" he can manipulate mentally. It rather looks like an opaque blue version of The Invisible Woman's force fields (or Green Lantern's power ring if he's more your style), so we're familiar with it from the jump. Gage isn't reinventing the wheel here.
This story could work quite well without the superpower aspect. Giving the cops superpowers is simply the sugar to help the medicine go down. This is a nicely lean and tidy story that gets its message across efficiently and well.
The dialogue is really good, the art is solid and the structure flows easily, all of it sweeping you along. Yes, it is a power fantasy, and with the current state of police killing unarmed black men in America, it can be troubling once you step back from it. But this is a story told in absolutes, where the morality is black and white, but as one of the TV talking head characters says in the book, "In the abstract I agree cops shouldn't take the law into their own hands, but in this specific instance I say 'Bravo!'"
In the real world, this would be troubling, but I get the impulse to punish the kind of sickos we hear about every day. This week we've seen Subway spokesman Jared Fogel arrested for child pornography and having sex with minors. Josh Duggar, who molested four little girls, was outed in the Ashley Madison scandal. And this morning I saw the video of two Virginia reporters being gunned down on live television, the 24-year-old girl screaming in terror as she was shot and killed, her murderer live-Tweeting the murders.
So today I want to see these sick bastards punished, which is certainly why this is striking a chord. The odd things was, I just picked this out of my to-read pile at random, knowing nothing about it.
Once I regain my equilibrium I'll prefer a story that has shades of gray to it. Where John Dusk kills a guy who maybe didn't deserve it. But not today.
August 28, 2018
Vigilantism enshrined? Really?
The moral and psychological complexity of a 5th grader is perfectly illustrated with an equally puerile art style here. Not quite minimalist (because that would take talent) but just enough lines and visual cues are there to remind us who and what things are and little else. That is, unless it involves blood ‘n’ guts which the illustrator seemed to favor for his own sick reasons. And just why does this flesh coated brutality spring up again and again?
Because our asshole (anti-)hero decides that since due process has failed, the state’s monopoly on coercion and force must be dispensed with. Unsurprisingly, a killing spree unfurls against all the villainous unseen by the state’s eye. This all (could) would seem cool except that this has been well explored subject previously within Batman lore (especially Miller’s Dark Knight Returns) and another pulp culture favorite – BoonDock Saints.
Toss in an extra serving of fisticuffs, questionable ethics/morals, and mediocrity and you’ll arrive at the same destination I was: bored.
[This has all been done before and so much better.]
The moral and psychological complexity of a 5th grader is perfectly illustrated with an equally puerile art style here. Not quite minimalist (because that would take talent) but just enough lines and visual cues are there to remind us who and what things are and little else. That is, unless it involves blood ‘n’ guts which the illustrator seemed to favor for his own sick reasons. And just why does this flesh coated brutality spring up again and again?
Because our asshole (anti-)hero decides that since due process has failed, the state’s monopoly on coercion and force must be dispensed with. Unsurprisingly, a killing spree unfurls against all the villainous unseen by the state’s eye. This all (could) would seem cool except that this has been well explored subject previously within Batman lore (especially Miller’s Dark Knight Returns) and another pulp culture favorite – BoonDock Saints.
Toss in an extra serving of fisticuffs, questionable ethics/morals, and mediocrity and you’ll arrive at the same destination I was: bored.
[This has all been done before and so much better.]
May 1, 2021
(Zero spoiler review) 2.5/5
This started out somewhat promising although lost its way early on. I knew nothing about this going in, other than it was an Avatar title, and I nearly always love me some Avatar title. The first thing to it me was the art. It was fairly average if I'm honest. Following a story drawn by Juan Jose Ryp is enough to make even the best look bog standard, although in this case, it was made even easier. The artist clearly put a bit of extra effort into his splash panels, and they came out ok, although it was competent enough yet pretty plain and lacking in any sort of immersion or wow factor. Of course, words reign supreme for me, so as long as the story was strong, the sub par art was forgivable. Sadly, the quality of writing pretty much matched the competence of the art. Not a lot going on, and as mentioned, it kinda shat the bed halfway through, going off on a weird tangent which I won't spoil. Don't get me wrong, had the writer executed it more effectively, you would be looking at a higher score. It was far more flawed application then flawed imagination, although it all came across as rather silly by the end. The world was poorly established. The characters were flat and one dimensional. Sure, it can be difficult to establish a convincing and fleshed out world in six issues, although don't introduce details into your story you aren't able to appropriately pull off. That being said. The precious seven issue arc of Black Summer, which was very similar stylistically did a far more convincing and accomplished job at pretty much everything that this novel fails at. There may be some fun here for some, and at least it wasn't woke. But there really isn't much more of substance beyond that. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
This started out somewhat promising although lost its way early on. I knew nothing about this going in, other than it was an Avatar title, and I nearly always love me some Avatar title. The first thing to it me was the art. It was fairly average if I'm honest. Following a story drawn by Juan Jose Ryp is enough to make even the best look bog standard, although in this case, it was made even easier. The artist clearly put a bit of extra effort into his splash panels, and they came out ok, although it was competent enough yet pretty plain and lacking in any sort of immersion or wow factor. Of course, words reign supreme for me, so as long as the story was strong, the sub par art was forgivable. Sadly, the quality of writing pretty much matched the competence of the art. Not a lot going on, and as mentioned, it kinda shat the bed halfway through, going off on a weird tangent which I won't spoil. Don't get me wrong, had the writer executed it more effectively, you would be looking at a higher score. It was far more flawed application then flawed imagination, although it all came across as rather silly by the end. The world was poorly established. The characters were flat and one dimensional. Sure, it can be difficult to establish a convincing and fleshed out world in six issues, although don't introduce details into your story you aren't able to appropriately pull off. That being said. The precious seven issue arc of Black Summer, which was very similar stylistically did a far more convincing and accomplished job at pretty much everything that this novel fails at. There may be some fun here for some, and at least it wasn't woke. But there really isn't much more of substance beyond that. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
June 26, 2021
I thought this was great. Avatar is an underrated publisher. While they have published some material I didn't care for, most of the Avatar books I've read have been above average with great art as well. This was no exception. Avatar can be a little too explicit for some readers, but if you look a little deeper you can see the violence isn't just for shock value. At least, not most of the time. Crossed may be an exception as that's probably the most violent comic ever published, but that's not what I'm reviewing here.
While it's nothing new to hear the tag line "a new take on super heroes", in this case it's pretty much true. In this universe, super humans are sanctioned just like police officers. At least, the good guys are. The villains, however, are even more vile than usual. When a hero finally can't take it anymore, he starts to end the villains...permanently. While it would be easy to write this off as a super powered Punisher type story, it's really anything but. This hero knows that what he's doing is wrong in a sense, but in another sense he thinks it needs to be done. The story isn't so much about killing the villains, but about the moral struggle of the hero and those around him.
I liked the art, and the story to me was on a slightly different level than most standard super hero fare. If you don't mind some violence and are looking for a super hero comic that makes you think, this may be worth a read.
While it's nothing new to hear the tag line "a new take on super heroes", in this case it's pretty much true. In this universe, super humans are sanctioned just like police officers. At least, the good guys are. The villains, however, are even more vile than usual. When a hero finally can't take it anymore, he starts to end the villains...permanently. While it would be easy to write this off as a super powered Punisher type story, it's really anything but. This hero knows that what he's doing is wrong in a sense, but in another sense he thinks it needs to be done. The story isn't so much about killing the villains, but about the moral struggle of the hero and those around him.
I liked the art, and the story to me was on a slightly different level than most standard super hero fare. If you don't mind some violence and are looking for a super hero comic that makes you think, this may be worth a read.
November 14, 2018
Superhero Serial Killer
December 6, 2020
Perhaps a bit too simple, yet quite satisfying and entertaining.
January 21, 2018
ABSOLUTE RATING: {2.5+/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
April 13, 2014
After decades of serialize superhero stories there are now publishers putting out independent stories featuring supers that break the molds of the traditional books that have to keep the same characters, heroes and villains, fighting it out over and over again to keep selling books.
Absolution is book that takes on the idea of the "hero" who crosses the line and starts killing the criminals. It is the typical challenge to the criminal justice system that seems to allow too many horrible people to keep on being horrible. The book does a good job, through the character of John Dusk, of exploring the psychology of why someone, very human despite his extraordinary abilities, would cross the line everyone fantasizes about, but never does. Only the most pacifist person wouldn't understand the satisfaction of "doing what is necessary." John Dusk performs admirably as the relatable anti-hero.
It has long been the contention of those who take the power-fantasy of the supers seriously, that someone having abilities that would put them at beyond, or at least at a serious advantage to traditional law enforcement authorities, would be very likely to use those powers to inflict their personal morality as far as they could. The fact that ethics and morality at their most basic are dependent on a common human condition that put us on a level playing field. We already see that those with power in the real world (the wealthy), can do things most of us can't, and inflict their own standards upon us. It is no stretch that even the best intentioned superhero would inevitably do the same.
My problem with the book is that descends into the traditional power/revenge fantasy... and that the character and the narrative fail to take on the ultimate ramifications of such a decision... instead we get the public having a knee jerk supportive reaction, and the character failing to live up to his own espoused standards. Fine if Gage wants to push the question, "At what point does he become the villain?" but that is stale, and nothing here really goes there. Instead we have the character we are supposed to relate to as having betrayed the trust and authority given to him, because his personal feelings are more important.
Cj Cherryh recently posted a quick rant about the horrible pop-culture character of the leader who leaves his duty to help his personal friends/family... and the unconscionable concept that we are supposed to think that is noble and heroic. The same thing applies here. John Dusk had a chance to obtain his own absolution, at least ethically, for his actions, but the story faltered at the end. If not for that, this would have been a five star read.
Absolution is book that takes on the idea of the "hero" who crosses the line and starts killing the criminals. It is the typical challenge to the criminal justice system that seems to allow too many horrible people to keep on being horrible. The book does a good job, through the character of John Dusk, of exploring the psychology of why someone, very human despite his extraordinary abilities, would cross the line everyone fantasizes about, but never does. Only the most pacifist person wouldn't understand the satisfaction of "doing what is necessary." John Dusk performs admirably as the relatable anti-hero.
It has long been the contention of those who take the power-fantasy of the supers seriously, that someone having abilities that would put them at beyond, or at least at a serious advantage to traditional law enforcement authorities, would be very likely to use those powers to inflict their personal morality as far as they could. The fact that ethics and morality at their most basic are dependent on a common human condition that put us on a level playing field. We already see that those with power in the real world (the wealthy), can do things most of us can't, and inflict their own standards upon us. It is no stretch that even the best intentioned superhero would inevitably do the same.
My problem with the book is that descends into the traditional power/revenge fantasy... and that the character and the narrative fail to take on the ultimate ramifications of such a decision... instead we get the public having a knee jerk supportive reaction, and the character failing to live up to his own espoused standards. Fine if Gage wants to push the question, "At what point does he become the villain?" but that is stale, and nothing here really goes there. Instead we have the character we are supposed to relate to as having betrayed the trust and authority given to him, because his personal feelings are more important.
Cj Cherryh recently posted a quick rant about the horrible pop-culture character of the leader who leaves his duty to help his personal friends/family... and the unconscionable concept that we are supposed to think that is noble and heroic. The same thing applies here. John Dusk had a chance to obtain his own absolution, at least ethically, for his actions, but the story faltered at the end. If not for that, this would have been a five star read.
November 13, 2012
В данном комиксе читателям открывается мир, в котором люди с суперспособностями спокойно расхаживают по улицам городов и даже официально работают на правительственные службы. Главным героем является один из тех людей с суперсилой, который работает в полиции. Он надевает свой костюм и ловит преступников, то есть делает все то, что входит в обязанности любого копа, просто наш герой умеет то, чего обычные копы не могут. А еще он отличается от обычных полицейских тем, что в тайне от всех он охотится за преступниками и жестко убивает их, хотя должен лишь арестовывать своих противников. Все дело в многочисленных психических травмах, которые он получил в ходе задержаний многих преступников и обнаружении их ужасных преступлений. Теперь Джон Сумрак, считая что так будет лучше для всех, убивает ублюдков. Но он и понятия не имеет, что под него уже копают, ведь тела жестоко убитых преступников никуда не исчезают…
Главный плюс этого комикса в интересной истории, в которой поднимается вечный вопрос о необходимости смертной казни для особо жестоких преступников и в куче колоритных героев. За действиями Джона Сумрака и многих его напарников следишь с особым интересом, ведь в истории множество как хорошо прописанных и оригинальных персонажей, так и уйма сильных и эмоциональных сцен. Не отстают и диалоги, которые может и не вызывают восхищения, но в то же время оставляют приятное впечатление. Финал же вызывает разные чувства. С одной стороны, то, к чему все в конце концов приведет, угадывалось еще с первых глав, но в то же время, после событий, о которых знал с первых глав, следуют другие, о которых догадаться уже никак было нельзя и которые вызывают сильнейшие эмоции и оставляют после себя приятное впечатление о прочитанном. С рисунком тоже все неоднозначно, местами он жутко раздражает и кажется слишком простеньким, однако иногда он становится довольно приятным на вид и ругать его уже не хочется.
В целом, это прекрасный комикс, с очень крутыми персонажами, интересной историей и неплохим финалом. Не будь рисунок столь неоднозначным, а финал столь предсказуемым, было бы вообще идеально. Но опять же, все и так прекрасно, ведь финал все равно умудряется удивить, а рисунок не всегда вызывает негативные эмоции.
Главный плюс этого комикса в интересной истории, в которой поднимается вечный вопрос о необходимости смертной казни для особо жестоких преступников и в куче колоритных героев. За действиями Джона Сумрака и многих его напарников следишь с особым интересом, ведь в истории множество как хорошо прописанных и оригинальных персонажей, так и уйма сильных и эмоциональных сцен. Не отстают и диалоги, которые может и не вызывают восхищения, но в то же время оставляют приятное впечатление. Финал же вызывает разные чувства. С одной стороны, то, к чему все в конце концов приведет, угадывалось еще с первых глав, но в то же время, после событий, о которых знал с первых глав, следуют другие, о которых догадаться уже никак было нельзя и которые вызывают сильнейшие эмоции и оставляют после себя приятное впечатление о прочитанном. С рисунком тоже все неоднозначно, местами он жутко раздражает и кажется слишком простеньким, однако иногда он становится довольно приятным на вид и ругать его уже не хочется.
В целом, это прекрасный комикс, с очень крутыми персонажами, интересной историей и неплохим финалом. Не будь рисунок столь неоднозначным, а финал столь предсказуемым, было бы вообще идеально. Но опять же, все и так прекрасно, ведь финал все равно умудряется удивить, а рисунок не всегда вызывает негативные эмоции.
November 13, 2024
Absolution, Vol. 1 presents an engaging, morally complex take on the vigilante-hero genre. The concept of a cop going rogue to eliminate the worst criminals is well-worn territory, but Christos Gage refreshes it by adding subtle superhero elements and creating a protagonist who wrestles with ethical boundaries in compelling ways. Gage’s writing keeps the pace brisk, and I found myself continually drawn to see where he would take this character.
The ending, however, felt too definitive for a story that thrived on moral ambiguity. A more open-ended conclusion could have better preserved the story’s ethical tension, allowing readers to wrestle with the questions the narrative raises. Despite this, it’s a solid three-star read that should appeal to fans of The Punisher or Dirty Harry and anyone looking for a superhero comic that strays from the typical Marvel/DC formula without aiming to reinvent the wheel. Not a groundbreaking work, but a quick and worthwhile read if this genre intrigues you.
The ending, however, felt too definitive for a story that thrived on moral ambiguity. A more open-ended conclusion could have better preserved the story’s ethical tension, allowing readers to wrestle with the questions the narrative raises. Despite this, it’s a solid three-star read that should appeal to fans of The Punisher or Dirty Harry and anyone looking for a superhero comic that strays from the typical Marvel/DC formula without aiming to reinvent the wheel. Not a groundbreaking work, but a quick and worthwhile read if this genre intrigues you.
August 22, 2010
Author Christos Gage works an idea done by many writers in the past with a small twist. The core idea is the psychological effect on peace officers who deal with rapists, murders, child molesters etc. What happens when one of those peace officers decides to go over the line and deal their version of justice, i.e. kills these threats to society? The twist here is that Gage's peace officer is a super hero in a world where supers are just one arm of law enforcement. John Dusk goes over the edge when he catches up to a serial child killer and kills him. After the first murder he finds an inner peace killing those he thinks the judicial system has let off. Gage doesn't quite draw the reader in emotionally, but delivers a solid what if tale.
November 11, 2014
this comic wasn't anything like what I was expecting.
I thought it was going to be another comic centering on a villain in a world where mutants are in hiding and an enemy of the government. wrong!
the mutants in this story are working for the police force as part of a specialized team used to take out the most criminal of targets. one of the team members takes on a side project of riding the city of the criminals who slide between the cracks in the law and continually escape justice.
fantastic read.
I thought it was going to be another comic centering on a villain in a world where mutants are in hiding and an enemy of the government. wrong!
the mutants in this story are working for the police force as part of a specialized team used to take out the most criminal of targets. one of the team members takes on a side project of riding the city of the criminals who slide between the cracks in the law and continually escape justice.
fantastic read.
April 10, 2015
Prvi dio Absolutiona donosi nam priču rastrzanog Johna Duska, koji osim što je policajac specijalnih jedinica, ima i posebne moći superjunaka. Međutim, Johnu je dozlogrdilo gledati kako negativci prolaze nekažnjeni te jednoga dana pređe granicu i od toga se trenutka nastavlja boriti protiv kriminala s mračne strane.
Strip je veoma nasilan, ali jako lijepo grafički predstavljen. Kao i svi stripovi o superjunacima, iznimno je zanimljiv je i ne gubi na napetosti. I postavlja jedno važno pitanje – kakav si ako ubijaš, pa makar to bili i kriminalci?
Strip je veoma nasilan, ali jako lijepo grafički predstavljen. Kao i svi stripovi o superjunacima, iznimno je zanimljiv je i ne gubi na napetosti. I postavlja jedno važno pitanje – kakav si ako ubijaš, pa makar to bili i kriminalci?
January 17, 2013
This was my very first contact with writer Christos Gage and what a ride it was! ABSOLUTION doesn't waste time setting up, it goes straight into action. The premise is not new but it is well developed. And, unlike other similar stories, it doesn't end with repent. I was afraid that it might turn into a sappy story with him apologizing for his sins. He does apologize for one thing (I'm not gonna tell you what), which is perhaps the only thing he should apologize for.
July 30, 2013
I would say this is the best thing by Gage that I've ever read read ... I thought it was really well done, and shows the moral, psychological, and ethical ramifications if a hero loses it ... and not in a Moore/Ellis type of way. The only complaint that I have is that it ended abruptly, or so I felt.
February 25, 2014
Great book. 4.5 stars, the half knocked off for what felt a bit cliche, in the scene with John after he gets the kids back.
Still a fantastic read. Chills at "Run John, Run."
Still a fantastic read. Chills at "Run John, Run."
January 25, 2016
Nice mini series looking at superheros and villains in a different way. Nice writing and art. Very recommended
January 23, 2023
Truly believable, credible characters populating an ultimately thin story
May 5, 2016
Dexter in superhero world.
Noice.
Noice.
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