Millennium #4 Review


Reunited with his daughter, Frank Black must decide whether to continue his private war against the Millennium Group or embrace his last chance to be a father.

The official description from IDW:

Frank Black thought the Millennium Group was defeated years ago but the organization has resurfaced, with his daughter in its crosshairs!

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Writer Joe Harris is the master of the slow reveal — four issues in and we finally get to the moment that readers had secretly hoped to see one on page one of the first issue: Frank, flanked by his daughter, and facing the shadowy members of the Millennium group as they reveal their plans for world disorder (and, of course, how Frank fits in). And it’s our hero fits in exactly, that ultimately propels us towards issue five but not without some careful groundwork here in issue four. True to his past openings, Harris goes slow, showing us a how Jordan got sucked into the group in the first place — by the time Frank finds her again, she’s deeply entrenched and (seemingly) drinking the Millennium Kool-Aid. This dissonance between a daughter and father makes for the most compelling writing of the issue — the dialogue between Frank and Jordan reveals age old hurts, mistrusts, and fundamentally, the pain of father not being to accept that his child has morphed into an adult. Harris’ writing transcends the plot-line nicely here. The only worry is that there’s only one issue left in this arc, and it feels like we just got here. I guess the slow reveal cuts both ways.

The art, again by Colin Lorimer, is delicious. The mood is creepy, rich and expressive. The only occasional drawback is Lorimer’s deep embrace of shadows — characters get lost, and at times, it’s hard to read the mood of characters since their face is absent all expression. Overall, this is a small critique since this comic is clearly in the hands of a strong artist who works beautifully with Harris.

One more issue left in this arc, and I can’t wait to see where it all goes.

OUR RATING
8
  • + Great Family Fight!
  • + Frank Faces the Millennium Group, Finally!
  • + Creepy Art
  • - Slower Pacing

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