As City Hall continues to threaten Geoffrey Warner, Blaze must find a way to unite C.O.W.L....even as John's investigation brings a dark cloud over the organization.
Anyways, this book succeeds on more than a conceptual level. The execution has been excellent as well, with Higgins and Siegel creating a great cast of characters that populate an unbelievably fleshed out world. Each of the characters has their own defining characteristics that makes them believable, as if they were real people who just happen to have superpowers or fight crime. More so than superheroes that exist in the DC or even the Marvel universes, these characters feel like they could exist in a real world context. That's not a knock against the big two, as the goal of COWL is very different. It's not about the big, bold superheroics of those two universes. It's a more grounded story about characters with relatable issues. Read Full Review
Less revelation-driven than previous issues, this chapter instead focuses on characterisation. Read Full Review
As for the artwork, beautiful is the only word that comes to mind. The line work is refined and elegant, with painterly strokes of color and texture to bring depth and emotional context to small, cleverly composed panels. The soft, almost gauzy sunlight in the sequences at Blazes breakfast table are some of the loveliest pages in this issue, with the bold highlights on their skin affecting the heat of a sun-warmed kitchen. Small and thoughtful touches, like the smudged white marks of telekinetic energy shielding Radia from the rain, or the use of white in a dark hallway to delineate a characters silhouette, make this book a sumptuous visual experience. Read Full Review
"C.O.W.L." is a unique and beautiful study of the power of politics in a world where the rules for super-heroism are being redefined. A period drama with more modern relevance than many other books out at the moment, Higgins, Siegel, and Reis have created a colourful comic-book world that is obsessed with the shades of grey between right and wrong. Read Full Review
C.O.W.L. #4 continues the series' unblemished streak and shows that Higgins and Siegel are far from done introducing amazing concepts and vibrant relationships into this story. With incredible art and dialogue you can practically hear, C.O.W.L. is not to be missed. Read Full Review
C.O.W.L. has been gradually turning into a must have, with the gripping developments of this issue sending it one step closer to that goal. Highly recommended. Read Full Review
I'm sure C.O.W.L. issue #4 will sell out, much like the three that came before. And that's awesome. Keep showing these guys support. Prove to the publishers that a great storycan sell comics, too. Read Full Review
C.O.W.L. is not your typical superhero comic book. Set in Chicago in the 1960s, we get a nice mix of superhero action laced with some real world ideas. Superheroes forming an organized union has a lot of merit. With that aspect such a big role in the title, we get to see what happens when that organized union goes on strike. With heroes on the picket line, what will they do when there are bad guys that need to be dealt with? Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel continue to flesh out the world they're creating. Rod Reis does an amazing job, as usual, on the art. He is joined by Stphane Perger, which gives us a different taste of the world, although it does cause a slight distraction in the reading experience. C.O.W.L. is a comic that should definitely be on your pull list. Read Full Review
C.O.W.L. #4 represents what this series is all about. Much of the first three issues was used to set up characters and conflicts. The drama thus far has been a slow burn, but here it begins to ignite (sometimes literally). Higgins and Reis have carefully laid the groundwork to tell a complicated and nuanced story, and reader's patience is going to be rewarded starting here. There are plenty of good superhero comics being published today, but very few great comics about the systems we create and operate within. That is what makes C.O.W.L. a unique comic and one worth reading. Read Full Review
If you haven't read this comic yet, I highly encourage you to dive in and at least give it a try. With only two issues out, you should be able to catch up easily. And with the gritty city and its heroes taking center stage, it should give you a new longjohns experience! Read Full Review
"Crime Story" meets "Astro City" in "C.O.W.L." #4, combining superheroes, politics, social structure and ideological disparities into one very compelling issue with the kind of depth that wouldn't necessarily be expected from such an intriguing but much-simpler sounding premise. Read Full Review
Higgins and Siegel continue to weave political theater, crime fighting, detective work, and moral dilemmas, not to mention strong compelling characters into a gripping, fantastic story. Unfortunately the artwork does not live up to the story-telling. Main characters' looks and styles are thrown out the window in favor of a more cartoonish, less gritty version which removes the reader from the story. Read Full Review
Great characterization in this issue, even though it can ultimately be boiled down to Blaze is cool and Arclight is a jerk.
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