What’s wrong with this art? Liam Sharp pencils, Andy Lanning inks, and the result is a mess. Figures change sizes, faces don’t maintain any continuity. It’s an ugly comic.
The issue’s a mess anyway, since it’s a contrived crossover with Bloodhound. Jason–Firestorm–had a run-in with the employee of one of Clev’s (from Bloudhound) enemies. So the villain’s after Jason and his dad.
Jolley opens the issue with Jason’s dad verbally berating him; when Jason’s later being emotional towards him… it feels like Stockholm Syndrome. There’s also the problematic villain. Jolley gives him a realistic backstory (to match Bloodhound) but it clashes with the Firestorm stuff.
There’s also a lot of geographic confusion and contrivance–Sharp’s art probably just makes it worse. The comic lacks any personality, since Jolley links the two series through a lame villain.
The explicitly inappropriate panels (if taken out of context) are strange.
C-
CREDITS
Upper Hand; writer, Dan Jolley; penciller, Liam Sharp; inker, Andy Lanning; colorist, Chris Sotomayor; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editors, Steve Wacker and Peter Tomasi; publisher, DC Comics.
God, Liam Sharpe on pencils almost guarantees a total lack of narrative cohesion. Almost feel sorry for Jolley getting stuck with such a slacker…