Written by Tom Orzechowski & Andy Grossberg
Art by Alan Weiss; Jim Fern; Tom Orzechowski; Color-o-Matic; & Studio Colour Group
Cover Art by Alan Weiss & Jim Fern
SUMMARY:
Published by Image Comics for March 1999, this mini-series finale is entitled “Hearts and Minds.” A time-traveling Harry Houdini and an angel, Kimiel, seek to recover two stolen artifacts from corpulent immortal Pope Rodrigo Borgia’s religious cult in Manhattan. A warrior angel, Zamzagiel, is sent from Heaven’s Embassy to intervene. Villainous Judas Iscariot attempts to escape with one of the artifacts, as Houdini and Borgia settle a five-hundred year old score.
REVIEW:
By itself, Daring Escapes # 4 is a high-concept read difficult to fathom. As intriguing as a time-traveling Houdini sounds, all the religious and quasi-historical elements thrown in make the plot far too muddled. The art team does solid work (i.e. its Howard Chaykin-like cover image), but their efforts don’t improve the convoluted story. Perusing the entire mini-series might yield better results, but this comic alone barely merits a single look.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Terry Fitzgerald pens the single-page “blah blah blah” column, including gushing over company co-founder Todd McFarlane’s winning bid for baseball player Mark McGwire then-record seventieth home run ball, among others. In two pages, writer Tom Orzechowski reveals the conception behind the Daring Escapes mini-series.
BRIAN’S 10-STAR RATING: 3 Stars
