Comic Info
Comic Name: Grifter (Volume 2)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Rob Liefeld/Frank Tieri
Artist: Scott Clark/Marat Mychaels
# of Issues: 9
Release Date: 2013
Reprints Grifter (2) #0, 9-16 (July 2012-March 2013). Grifter has found new fame as a potential chosen one in the battle against the Daemonites. Facing off against Stormwatch and Suicide Squad, Grifter much live up to his reputation of a man who can pull off the impossible…but is he the one doing the conning or is someone conning him?
Written by Rob Liefeld and Frank Tieri, Grifter Volume 2: Newfound Power is the second volume in the New 52 relaunch. Following Grifter Volume 1: Most Wanted, Rob Liefeld and Frank Tieri replaced Nathan Edmondson and CAFU as writers of the series, but sagging numbers resulted in the series cancellation.
I was really excited when Wildstorm characters popped up in Flashpoint and were announced as continuing series in the New 52. I read Grifter and rather enjoyed Grifter (I also was of the opinion that Voodoo wasn’t as bad as everyone claimed it to be). Unfortunately, this volume shows a downturn in the writing and quality of the comic.
Rob Liefeld never has been a good writer and his art has never been my favorite (despite loving some of his New Mutant/X-Force run). Like many of his ’90s comics, Grifter suddenly becomes a comic where nothing is going on, and it is just a series of boring fights.
The story ends up coming out as gibberish. I’m sure that Liefeld had bigger plans for the story, but the run was cut short. The story ends rather abruptly and in a cliffhanger…leaving you wondering what happens. It is a rather lackluster cliffhanger—we already knew Helspont survived.
I guess with the bad writing, I could have enjoyed art by Liefeld since Liefeld created the character. Instead you have a Liefeld-esque artist and the artist has to do page after page of generic fights that Liefeld and Tieri probably didn’t provide much direction for.
Grifter 2: Newfound Power is a rather dull and lifeless collection. The writing is substandard and the artists struggles to illustrate it. Liefeld demonstrates that he has not evolved much since 1991…sometimes retro is not a good thing. I hate that a series I enjoyed fell so far from the first volume, but Grifter 2 earned its cancellation.
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