End Of Life #1 Review

 

Writer: Kyle Starks

Artist: Steve Pugh

Colorist: Chris O’Halloran

Letterer & Designer: Becca Carey

Cover Artists: Gerald Parel; Seba Fiumara; Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola; Dave Johnson

Connecting Variant Cover Artist: Álvaro Martínez Bueno

Editors: Matthew Levine & Chris Conroy

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99/$4.99

Release Date: February 18, 2026

 

Sure, he was a last-minute replacement. Still, when his buddy Devin needed him, Eddie Stallion answered the call. Unfortunately, Devin didn't do his homework. After they killed the security guards during their home invasion, Eddie saw a familiar symbol. He realized how he had messed up. And the organization Eddie works for has zero tolerance for the wrong kind of screwups. Can Eddie skip town before his colleagues hunt him down? And is anywhere on Earth safe from the Menagerie? Let’s grab a gun and a mask, leap into End Of Life #1, and see!

 

Story

Eddie hoped he could cover up his involvement in the unauthorized raid on the home of a Menagerie boss. But when he sees hitmen outside his apartment complex, Karla confirms what Eddie suspected. Like Han Solo, the Menagerie has put a price on his head so large that every bounty hunter in the world is looking for him.

 

In End Of Life #1, Eddie realizes his life is over. If his handler can’t smooth over his mistake, the Menagerie will kill him, or he will be a fugitive for the rest of his life. When Eddie considers his least likely actions, he returns to the place he thought he had left forever.

 

Kyle Starks’ story is about what makes us feel secure. When he was growing up, Eddie and his father didn't get along. Feeling like damaged goods, Eddie compensated by adopting a star mentality and acting like the eternal man-child. But when he realizes that his life carries an expiration date, Eddie returns to his roots, even if only to say goodbye.

 

As we follow Eddie through his journey home, we discover that, despite his flippant attitude, he doesn't intend to offend others. Perhaps it is due to losing his home and his easygoing lifestyle. Still, he tries to meet others halfway and protects others from aggression. But regardless of whether the Menagerie mercenaries catch up with him, Eddie discovers a killer he cannot kill first in End Of Life #1.

 

Art

As he leans against a nearby building, Eddie spots people wielding guns and wearing masks with horns guarding the grand entryway of his apartment. While Karla's dress and hairstyle evoke 60s fashions, the tablet on her desk and wall monitors seem modern touches. As his associates wear combat outfits and balaclavas, Eddie rocks the kill zone with his suit, pop star hairstyle, neck tattoo, and dangling cigarette.

 

Either Eddie has tired of paying cleaners to remove bloodstains, or he chose his red suit to make a statement. Eddie looks at home in the pink and red vault as he wanders amid the display cases filled with prized possessions. The pink and purple wall design evokes club interiors in Miami Vice. While lavishing bright colors on End Of Life #1, Chris O’Halloran adorns memories with faded colors and portrays a defining event in Eddie's past with black, white, and gray. Traumatizing realizations fill backgrounds with yellow, orange, and red, as characters realize that they may pay for an unintended mistake with their lives.

 

Becca Carey fills white dialogue balloons with black, uppercase letters. The words grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Larger, lowercase white letters in black fields locate us in time and space, while uppercase letters in yellow fields identify all Eddie can call his own. While sound effects enhance fighting and gunfire, they also showcase Eddie thinking, something he seems likely to do more of as he becomes the target in The Most Dangerous Game. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

Despite how his father treated him, Eddie Stallion has followed in George Stallion’s footsteps. Like his father, Eddie gets a wake-up call and an opportunity to start over. But that seems unlikely, as an act of kindness and protection increases the forces arrayed against Eddie in End Of Life #1.

 

Rating 9.7/10

 

To look inside, see my preview of End Of Life #1.