Lost in the library (part 7 of 13) - Deathstroke, The Terminator: Assassins

Deathstroke, the Terminator vol 1: Assassins

By Marv Wolfman, Steve Erwin and Will Blyberg

The current DC house art style is some weird nth-generation dilution of Jim Lee and a surprising amount of Todd Nauck, but for a little while there, everyone at DC was trying to draw like George Perez and Brian Bolland.  This was the generation of Jurgens, Grummett, Barreto and Steve Erwin, who did the art for the issues collected in this book, and with the ridiculously reliable Blyberg on inks. 

It's all sharp lines and detail, pushing past the Kirby-influences of the likes of Adams and Cardy, taking that confident line forward. The story in this book is about secret drug cartel wars in the 1980s, and is really nasty at times, with a bodycount easily into the three figures. But Deathstroke never really felt like a prime figure like the Punisher, because everything was too convoluted - the over-egged backstory, the costume that should be cool but doesn't quite get there, even the fact the title of his comic couldn't pick one of two badass names, so just stapled them together. 

But with the art from Erwin - who sadly passed away a couple of years ago - is all very clear, with no missing details, and a thick line often missing in 21st century comics.