Gun Honey Collision Course TP Review

 

Gun Honey Collision Course TP Review

Writer: Charles Ardai

Artist: Ang Hor Kheng

Inkers: Jose Zapata & João Rodri

Colorist: João Rodri

Letterer: David Leach

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $17.99

Release Date: November 19, 2024

 

After Dahlia Racers helped them fake their deaths, Brook Barrows and Joanna Tan hid out in Borneo. But nearly a year has passed, and both want to return to their lives. Then one day, Joanna drops a bombshell that ends their idyllic existence.

 

Before they disappeared, Joanna placed sensitive information about Brook's time in the U.S. intelligence community in safekeeping. But if she doesn't return to Japan soon, Hiroshi Yamato will release that information to the world. What will Joanna and Brook do? And how many people will die because of Joanna's actions? Let's leap into Gun Honey Collision Course TP and see!

 

Story

While Dahlia Racers devises illusions for the world's top magicians, she also helps people evade death at their enemies' hands. So, after the "Heat Seeker" convinced the world that they were dead, Joanna and Brook want to stay under the radar. At least, for a while longer. But as they work as crew aboard a ship heading toward Japan, others want access to the secrets inside the Yamato Vault. And instead of going after Hiroshi Yamato, they abduct his son.

 

Joanna feels responsible for Kyosuke’s abduction. So, once they arrive, Joanna Tan and Brook Barrows volunteer to rescue Hiroshi Yamato’s son in Gun Honey Collision Course TP. But father and son are underworld gangsters in Japan, and their rivals are formidable foes. As Joanna and Brook embroil themselves in the underworld, they also step on toes. And even if they rescue Kyosuke, they’ll make enemies for life.

 

While following Joanna and Brook’s journey, Charles Ardai also follows their enemies. Along with Wyatt Gorman, Jeremy Kruger wanted fellow against Brook Barrows dead. Kruger has secrets he desperately wants to protect. And when you work for U.S. Intelligence, you can manipulate anyone into working for you.

 

Joanna Tan may be a free agent. But Brook Barrows is a straight shooter. He was a protégé of the Director of National Intelligence until he discovered things he shouldn't have. Now, he and Joanna work to protect people, while their pursuers seek to keep their misdeeds hidden. But while Brook and Joanna are highly skilled operatives, they are outnumbered and outgunned. And no matter how quickly they race across the globe, they may be out of time in Gun Honey Collision Course TP.

 

Art

In Kalimantan, Borneo, Brook Barrows climbs along moss-covered limbs, while Joanna Tan bathes below. Clothed only in the pistol strapped to her thigh, Joanna defends herself as Brook crashes beside her, disturbing the lily pads in the natural pool. They return to a house constructed from tree limbs and palm fronds, while a punching bag beckons from the doorway of a smaller hut. Then, like Indiana Jones boarding a plane, a map traces their journey across the sea.

 

Joanna and Brook’s adventures take them to gambling halls and boxing dens. They visit exclusive homes and timeworn fortresses. The yellow sun brightens their high-speed journeys across winding ribbons of asphalt and beige expanses of windblown sand. As Ang Hor Kheng, Jose Zapata, and João Rodri transport the heroes into danger and battles, Rodri lavishes a loaded palette on the immersive art in Gun Honey Collision Course TP. Yet as red splashes across panels, the intricate settings ground the high-flying action and the acres of well-toned flesh.

 

David Leach fires black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and colored boxes. The words grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects enhance Joanna Tan and Brook Barrow’s attempt to get their lives back, while villains kill anyone in their way to protect an international conspiracy. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Brook Barrow spent a year hiding out from his enemies. Joanna Tan likewise traded her action-packed, globetrotting life for an idyll in paradise. But when they return to the world he left behind, Joanna and Brook find the U.S. intelligence community more dangerous than the predators in Borneo could ever be in Gun Honey Collision Course TP.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Gun Honey Collision Course TP.

 

For how Dahlia Racers helped Joanna and Brook disappear, see my review of Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1. 

 

For how Joanna's actions endangered Dahlia Racers, see my review of Heat Seeker: Exposed #1. 

 

Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1 Review

 

Writer: Charles Ardai

Penciller: Ace Continuado

Inker: Jose Zapata

Colorist: Asifur Rahman

Letterer: David Leach

Cover Artist: Celina

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $17.99

Release Date: February 27, 2024

 

Marked for death, Joanna Tan and Brook Barrow travel to New York. They hope her friend Dahlia Racers can help shake intelligence agents off their trail. But can a magician's illusionist make them disappear? Let’s burn into Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1 and find out!

 

Story

Dahlia Racers trades in lies and deception. Like Jonathan Creek, she spends most days designing illusions for magicians. Then there are her extracurricular activities. When people get in trouble, they need to disappear. Deceiving loan sharks doesn’t test Dahlia’s abilities. But convincing government intelligence agents like Jeremy Kruger and Wyatt Gorman that Joanna Tan and their former pal Brook Barrows bit the dust? That's another level of crazy.

 

Faking murders, dressing people up in disguises, and sending them on their way is the easy part. Leaving a false trail for killers to follow enhances Dahlia's illusion. Convincing pursuers that their intended victims met an untimely end after faking their deaths and running off to hide is Dahlia's most challenging task in Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1. Dahlia gets help from friends like Pedro Dizon and Elysin Wonderland. But complications arise when Pedro’s sister learns he died in Las Vegas. Tala is a part-time gun dealer. And she isn’t happy that Dahlia got her brother killed.

 

As Dahlia winds her way from New York to Las Vegas and Mexico, a hunter pursues her. Sarah Claride expects lies and deception. Sure, she kills people for the money. But Sarah Claride gets a thrill from hunting her prey in Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1. The more a job challenges her, the bigger the thrill. And once Sarah sinks her teeth into a case, she won’t let anyone or anything get in the way of killing her target.

 

In Charles Ardai’s story, the bodies Sarah leaves behind worry Jeremy Kruger. He and Wyatt Gorman have skeletons in their closets. The last thing they need is Sarah to attract their superiors’ attention. But Sarah doesn't care about their office politics. Sarah has sunk her teeth into Dahlia. Finding Dahlia takes her one step closer to killing Joanna Tan and Brook Barrow, collecting Jeremy Kruger’s stack of cash, and reveling in the satisfaction of another triumphant hunt.

 

Art

Ace Continuado and Jose Zapata deliver spectacle as Dahlia leaps off the balcony of Vicente Boracchio’s magic theater before visiting Elysin Wonderland’s Las Vegas show. Moments of high-flying action in Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1 include a shootout in the desert and a chase down the outside of a multistory building. Dahlia's escape plan involves stripping down for numerous costume changes. If those scenes don’t steam up your reading glasses, a visit to a topless sunbathing resort and a nudist camp will.

 

Asifur Rahman lavishes a loaded palette upon Jeremy Kruger and Wyatt Gorman's intense office meetings, Sarah's stabbings and shootouts, and Dahlia's erotic interludes. Dahlia wears a wig of long, red hair over her short blonde hair and favors a green suit with a V-neck that nearly extends to her navel. Rahman imbues night scenes with color and ample lighting, while the action scenes often include crimson.

 

David Leach launches black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. The font grows bold for inflection and occasionally shrinks in Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1. Sound effects include gunfire, doorbells, more gunfire, roaring engines, even more gunfire, explosions, and yet more gunfire. Thanks to Titan Comics and Hard Case Crime for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

While Dahlia Racers designs illusions for magicians, she also helps people disappear. But when Joanna Tan needs her help, Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series Vol 1 reveals the lengths Dahlia will go to for her friends and how much they love her for it.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my preview at The Dragon's Cache.

 

 

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.

 

Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series #1 Review

 

Writer: Charles Ardai

Penciller: Ace Continuado

Inker: Jose Zapata

Colorist: Asifur Rahman

Letterer: David Leach

Cover Artists: Argerm; Bill Sienkiewicz; Ace Continuado; Claudia Caranfa; Ang Hor Kheng;

Publisher: Titan

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 5, 2023

 

Marked for death, Joanna Tan and Brook Barrow travel to New York. They hope her friend Dahlia Racers can help shake intelligence agents off their trail. But can a former magician's assistant make them disappear? Let’s burn into Heat Seeker #1 and find out!

 

Story

Dahlia deals with lies and deception. The hotter people are, the more they need her help. Deceiving power brokers and paid assassins isn't easy. The high prices Dahlia commands give her the tools she needs to fool the most jaded killers.

 

 

 

While this is a humdinger of a story, I initially found events hard to follow. A beautiful redhead saves a magician. Joanna and Brook visit Dahlia. She gives them extreme makeovers. Then she and her assistant dress up as them. The people who want Joanna and Brook dead hire a woman to kill them. The identity swaps and inadequate introductions confused me. I still don't understand how the magician's rescue relates to the rest of the issue. Still, something kept drawing me back to Heat Seeker #1. Thus, three days—and several attempts later—I finally wrote this review.

 

It would have been easier to review another comic. Yet it reminds me of stories I love, such as the Mission Impossible movies and the TV series Bosch. While I've never read Gun Honey, Heat Seeker #1 feels like a natural successor to Peter O'Donnell and Enric Badia Romero's Modesty Blaise comics, which I discovered through Titan Books' oversize trade paperbacks.

 

 

Art

Heat Seeker #1 boasts strong portrayals of characters, and page layouts are dynamic. I especially like the page when Dahlia confronts assassins in Vicente Boracchio’s theater, chats with the hired killers, shoots Vinnie, and blows up the theater. Amid these panels, a stylish Dahlia pops into the foreground, pointing her gun at the reader. Vehicles and buildings invoke realism, with equal attention paid to interiors. The Mature art reveals a woman unashamed of her body without portraying sex, excessive swearing, or glorifying violence.

 

Full spectrum color gives Heat Seeker #1 a cinematic appeal. Skin tones, clothing, and interiors have richness and depth. New York City's bustling streets shine with vitality. The Las Vegas Strip glows with color while quiet solemnity bespells the surrounding desert. The first page could have been less steeped in gray as Dahlia prepares to save Vincente. Her motorcycle scenes look hyper-real. But while the story and art confounded me, the coloring only made me applaud.

 

 

Heat Seeker #1 uses small uppercase letters and an appealing font style. The narrative appears in colored boxes, while dialogue materializes in white balloons. Sound effects explode like Vicente's theater hurtling colored words toward you. Had the creators conjured up better time/space markers, I wouldn't have been so mystified by how all the moving pieces fit together.

 

Final Thoughts

Heat Seeker #1 may confuse Gun Honey virgins, but this appealing, high-octane espionage thriller will pull a rabbit out of the hat for Mission Impossible and Modesty Blaise fans.

 

Rating 7.8/10

 

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