Hornsby & Halo #14 // Review
Tommy’s come to Warwick, New York. It’s a small town that happens to be inhabited by a couple of people Tommy’s looking for. Tommy’s a celebrity. He’s 13 years old and he’s the wealthiest person on the planet. He’s looking for the one thing money can’t really but in Hornsby & Halo #14. Writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Peter Snejbjerg continue “the Unbelievables” crossover event for Ghost Machine. Color comes to the page courtsy of John Kalisz. It’s been interesting seeing Zachary and Rose gradually develop over the course of the past year or so, but it’s particularly cool seeing them beginning to fin into a larger universe.
Rose isn’t impressed. She’s understandably annoyed by the presence of a trillionaire. There’s a parade for the celebrity in question. Zach finds it charming enough. The parade is over and they each go their separate ways. Little do they know that they are being watched by the kid who threw the parade in the first place. Why is a trillionaire kid interested in the lives of a couple of strangers his age? Maybe he wants to make a couple of friends. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that she’s a devil and he’s an angel.
Tomasi pieces the story pretty well. It's a bit strange having a crossover like this where the guest character is just watching the title characters for most of the issue. One typically expects a crossover to be a jump cut that suddenly allows everybody to hang out for an entire issue. This is more of a gradual move into a very close and tight encounter. It's actually very well paced. It just feels weird to have a crossover that doesn't involve quite as much direct interaction between the characters and question as one might expect.
Snejbjerg doesn’t quite give Tommy the style and emotional depth that Stefano Simeone brings to the page in the first issue of Tommy’s Trillion Dollar Kid. Tommy’s basic energy is clearly there, but Snejberg isn’t giving Tommy the emotional intricacy that Simeone manages with the character in his own. book. That aside, Rose and Zachary continue to develop quite well on the page. There’s a clearly evident visual signature between the two of them that is brought to the page with swift, dynamic action. Kalisz mixes color and luminosity to the page to create a radiant kind of depth that serves the story quite well given that most of the action takes place somewhere around evening.
The Unbelievables universe expands just a bit more as Tommy continues his journey into the Rocketfellers with his next appearance. The various characters of this particular universe seem a little bit more scattered than most comic book universes are. It's going to be interesting to see how all of this fits together on a larger level as things progress. For now this particular crossover feels like it's exactly where it needs to be. Should be an interesting journey in the months and years ahead.
