Gun Honey Collision Course #3 Review

 

Writer: Charles Ardai

Artist: Ang Hor Kheng

Inkers: Jose Zapata & João Rodri

Colorist: João Rodri

Letterer: David Leach

Cover Artists: Jeehyung Lee; Alex Ronald; Cosplay; Ang Hor Kheng; Riccardo Federici; Claudia Caranfa; Cedric Poulat; Nathan Szerdy; Alain Nip; David Dias

Publisher: Titan

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 10, 2024

 

US Intelligence agent Jeremy Kruger wanted the secrets in Hiroshi’s vault, so he hired the Yoshidas. The Yoshida brothers dishonored and killed Hiroshi’s son. Joanna Tan invaded Big Yoshida's outdoor baths, killed two of his men, and wounded his brother. Joanna honors Hiroshi’s son with a respectful burial, but now Kruger and the Yoshidas want Joanna dead. Can Joanna save Hiroshi and protect his secrets? Let's strap on our weapons, leap into Gun Honey Collision Course #3, and find out!

 

Story

Hiroshi Yamato ran a vast empire. Yet success came with a price. The rich man lived in a private prison and kept a harem. Now, he is a captive, his son is dead, and his enemies are closing in on his secret vault. As his empire crumbles, those he protected duck for cover. Yet most endangered are the women who console him in his isolation. They live a peaceful life, unbothered by the world, at an ancient monastery in the Gobi Desert.

 

The Yoshidas' agent transports Hiroshi. As the US Intelligence agent waits for them to bring the man who will unlock his secrets, Kruger reflects on his past and the people who brought him to this juncture. Kruger and Director Morse had a plan. But now she is dead, and Kruger blames Joanna and Brook for her loss. But foremost in his mind is learning what Gorman stored with Hiroshi before he disappeared.

 

Like Morse before him, Kruger hungers for the power to act as he sees fit without regard for how he harms others. But he hasn't learned the lessons Morse tried to teach him. In Gun Honey Collision Course #3, Kruger enflames a dangerous situation and loses a valuable asset. Still, he comes away with a game piece he can use to accomplish his goal.

 

Joanna saves women from a tragic fate and does what she can for Hiroshi. She achieves a victory even if she doesn’t win the war. Still, Joanna Tan emerges from her mission in Mongolia with the tools to carry the fight to Kruger one final time.

 

Art

Kruger’s binoculars reveal a historic walled compound. Kruger remembers arguing with Morse over a classified file. Kruger greets the Yoshidas’ agent with a gun. The man responds by pointing a gun at Hiroshi. Amid the standoff, a woman with a walking stick greets the visitors. Thanks to Charles Ardai’s tongue-in-cheek humor, Ang Hor Kheng, Jose Zapata, and João Rodri's depiction of her charges clashes with the wizened woman's description. Brook and Kruger confront each other in Gun Honey Collision Course #3, but their bald heads remind us of their shared past.

 

Gray stone walls rise from pumpkin sands beneath an orange and pink sky, while mauve and purple dominate Kruger's flashbacks. Joanna drops into a blue and green computer room in her reflective black catsuit. She ignores the glowing red and yellow lights as she works before a light blue monitor. A silhouette against a burning orange background reveals a character's fate in Gun Honey Collision Course #3.

 

David Leach adorns João Rodri's lavishly colored panels with black uppercase lettering in white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. Vibrant sound effects enhance gunfire and a plunging knife, while a whirling staff demonstrates a character’s admirable resilience. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Amid the fight to protect Hiroshi Yamada and his secrets, Brook strives to bring Kruger to justice, Joanna Tan realizes the price people pay for riches, and Agent Kruger steps closer to unleashing his plan. Yet, while the greedy play games of life and death to gain money and power, a person outside civilized society trains others to be independent in Gun Honey Collision Course #3.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.