The shocking events of The Human Target #6 make it clear that Tom King's series is outside of the official continuity or that it should be. However, that doesn't prevent it from being a damn good story. It's going to be a long summer, waiting for the series to resume, but I have high expectations that it will be worth the wait. Read Full Review

I love the classic style of the art and how perfectly it matches the tone and mood of the story. It is a wonderful visual interpretation of noir style imagery. Read Full Review

Smallwood, King and Cowles are making one of the best noir thrillers of the year. Though the series will be taking a break for a while, I cant wait for its inevitable return and the fallout that this issue itself will bring! Read Full Review

The last issue of The Human Target before its hiatus leaves the fans wanting more, ending on quite a cliffhanger as we get passion, a lovers' quarrel, and that last page surprise will make this wait insufferable! Tom King and Greg Smallwood deliver in this one-two punch in terms of art and story. I know I'll be racking my brains to figure things out before this series returns. Read Full Review

To be honest, this noir-tinged Justice League should bug me, but I find myself drawn in by the beautiful art and the skillful detective trappings of it all, even when the story gets darker than I ever expected. Read Full Review

The unpredictability of Tom King comics is part of what makes them so great. Read Full Review

We may not get much in the way of moving the case forward (with Ice continuing to be a distraction), or any new cameos from the Justice League International, but we do get a return in the jealous Guy Gardner who attempts to break-up the pair of squabbling lovers and faces Ice's fury. The scene, and its aftermath remind us that we are in a Black Label comic, separate from the current continuity of the DC Universe. As for the case, Chance needs to get back to work with only a handful of days left to find his answers. Read Full Review

The Human Target #6 drops a little clue about Chance's killer and thoroughly decimates any respect or good feelings you might have had for Guy Gardner. The writing is incredibly skillful, even if the character reinterpretations are downright distasteful. In any case, Smallwood's art is beyond reproach and worth the price of admission. Read Full Review

While the comic dabbles with one of my underlying issues with The Human Target to date (namely that Christopher Chance is shown to always have the upper hand on every superhero he encounters), there's enough....weirdness going on with the narrative that temporarily dissuades those issues for now. Read Full Review

It's a good thing the title is going on hiatus until September. Maybe by that point readers will have forgotten the state of the book when it returns. There's little reason to expect King will do anything differently as he seems content to trash this alternate version of the JLI. Read Full Review

My god!!

"Twelve days. That's all I get to find who murdered me. And I just spent today fighting, drinking, screwing, and killing."

I'll make sure to avoid any real spoilers but man.

I had been waiting to read this run as a collection but had to gobble them up digitally after it received a 2022 Eisner nomination for “Best New Series”. Greg Smallwood’s artwork is absolutely beautiful (so clean). Tom King was already controversial in comic circles before this book. Whether you hate him or love him, either way he evokes strong feelings from fans. He seemed to upset a lot of people with this Human Target story. I didn’t particularly care for his Batman stuff or Omega Men. On the other hand, I for one enjoy most of his Black Label DC character deconstructing projects like Strange Adventures and I’ll stand by Mister Miracle as one of the best projects I’ve ever read (definitely worthy of its nine Eisner nominations). So where does that leave The Human Target? It’s a deep, character-driven, slow burn that we’re only halfway through. The first six issues were excellently conceived and executed. I have high hopes that King and Smallwood stick the landing with the second half of this series because issue #6 really packed a punch.

"All I need...is one punch." more

So crazy, can't wait for the following issues.

Holy crap.

This is the kind of bold storytelling that got Tom King his fame in the first place.

Despite the nature of comic books, especially superhero ones, its not often where you have a moment that completely takes you by surprise. One that no one could have seen coming.

This book is one of the rare exceptions. If you dont feel your heart race at the implications of this issue, then I feel you are dead inside. This book makes it very clear that it is firmly outside of known continuity at this point, and thats ok. Theres no going back now.

This will be a controversial issue for some, but for me, I will say that at the very least you cannot accuse Tom King of being too safe a writer. Wow.

Art is phenomenal as usual.

I cannot wait for the next issue. more

surreal

Oh no! Characters are acting out of character in an out-of-continuity series. The horror!

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hesfkshgf - Mar 27, 2022

Out of character or what amounts to a snuff film?

hesfkshgf - Mar 27, 2022

so, it's a 9.5/10 BECAUSE they are acting out of character???

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Fans of Guy might not be a huge fans of this issue. Or this series.

I'm not a fan of Guy, so... I love this.

Christopher Chance said it best to sum up how screwed he was from the get go "It was a good game. went to overtime. But we lost in the end." This is a story about choices and how far can you go before it's too late and where exactly is the point of no return. King does well here. Greg Smallwood is just magic as always.

Gonna be tough waiting for the next issue.

Tom King goes all-in on the noir here and damn is it good as the femme fatale really lives up to her name. The use of a classic JLI trope was smartly done and it really gives the series a feeling of forward propulsion that our main characters can't return from. I love that King is using the Black Label to take such a big swing.

And what's left to be said about Smallwood's sublime art that hasn't been said already? He's able convey more emotion and meaning in just a glance or a touch than most artists can fit in an entire book. A perfect example is the quiet moment at the start of the issue between a coughing-for-sympathy Chance and Ice. In just a few almost wordless panels, Smallwood let the entire argument between the two playout, resolve, then linger in a way that felt perfectly real.

The wait until September for #7 is gonna be painful but worth it. more

Hoo boy, lots of anger from the Twitter crowd on this one, over a few certain panels. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a lot more positivity from those who read this in full.

This issue doesn't quite progress the investigation, but it does push the characters to a point of no return, greatly upping the stakes. It's an intense middle point that leaves readers on edge for the second half.

I thought it was a pretty solid read. One of the better issues.

Can't believe it's going on hiatus for so long. This issue has me itching for more!
It's also the most I've ever been invested in a JLI story, these versions of these characters I am really, really enjoying and it is likely that this is where they're only ever going to exist.

I'm totally fine with that, the ride's been great.

This is a good issue, although I found it a bit lacking. The femme fatale stuff with Ice worked better in issue two than it does here. I feel it stretching a bit too much here. I tend to find femme fatales boring in general, so the fact that this series managed to get past my bias before only makes it worse that it's starting to fail in that regard. I don't care about Guy Gardner getting killed. I will say, I feel like it's a small hole in the story that Guy's ring doesn't fly away to find a new bearer as soon as he dies, which would alert everyone to his being dead. I feel like that's a very obvious obstacle that should've been accounted for. Maybe it will be next issue.

The story is compelling but I can't say I like it.

Why you do my boy Guy like this?

The best I can say is, at least it's a black label book, and as such, can be ignored.

Smallwood is an excellent artist,and his craft and talent are on full display. My low rating for this comic is no reflection on him.

The story... is ok. Just ok. If you enjoy the way Tom King characterizes his heroes, then you'll probably be fine. Speaking for myself, I do not. It's wearying to read a series in which everyone is a terrible person. This issue's victim is Guy Gardner. He is portrayed as the worst kind of stalker ex-boyfriend, creep, and bully. He is killed in a way that is patently ridiculous, and our romantic leads have sex among the thawing pieces of his shattered corpse. I probably should have given a spoiler warning, but frankly, I wish someone had warned me.

King is a fair writer, but it is evident with each new series, that he only has one story to tell. And I've read it, and wish I hadn't. more

It seems like more people are here defending the book than are actually buying it! Looking at the sales rankings, it seems a lot more people are getting tired of Tom King's one-trick storytelling. This issue continues the Tom King fetish of writing awful characters in awful situations, possibly for his own twisted fantasies. Guy isn't the worst part, it's Chance and Ice watching a "Guy" die, getting turned on by that, and going off to have sex. There isn't a likable character in the series and Smallwood is wasted at times drawing 9-panels of a ringing phone. Just seeing people praise King as one of the best writers out there shows you everything you need to know about the state of comics today!

Crap. Tom King is good sometimes and other times a very bad writer.

Great art from Smallwood, but holy shit this is some of the worst character assassination I've seen in a Big 2 comic since Marvel's Civil War.

TK really comes across as having a bone against the JLI