Black Condor Goes Home In Freedom Fighters #8
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
23 years ago, Marcus Robbins was born in the Detroit Factory-City Complex. Marcus would grow up to become the Black Condor but not before watching the Nazis arrest his parents. Now, Black Condor and Doll Woman infiltrate Detroit to discover the Plasstic Man formula and find a way to beat it. That means Marcus must put on the garb of a slave worker again, and it eats him up inside. Meanwhile, Uncle Sam, Cache, and Phantom Lady ready to infiltrate Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado in the hopes that they can save the Human Bomb and reunite the Freedom Fighters.
Freedom Fighters #8 focuses on Black Condor and his history as he and Doll Woman ready to infiltrate the smog-choked skies of Detroit. It’s a painful experience for Marcus to return home, and the comic shows us just how deep this cuts him.
This is a fairly emotional issue thanks to how personal this is for Black Condor. We really only get a glimpse of Sam, Phantom Lady, and Cache, though we do learn what they plan to do after Condor gets the Plasstic Man formula.
It’s an intense comic in many parts. The scenes inside Detroit are brutal, and we see how the Nazis treat their “workers.” That said, Robert Venditti knows how to balance that darkness and brutality with hope and righteous rage.
Eddy Barrows and Jack Herbert team up for the artwork on this one, with Barrows handling the flashbacks and Herbert covering the scenes in the present. Both are phenomenally talented artists and do a hell of a job pencilling this book. Adriano Lucas backs it up with great color work that keeps the book dripping with a fittingly grim atmosphere.
Freedom Fighters #8 is another stellar issue for this DC maxiseries. The story finds an emotional center by focusing on the painful history of Black Condor while he fights to free his home from oppression. It’s a great read and is easily worth a recommendation. Give it a read.
Freedom Fighters #8 comes to us from writer Robert Venditti, artists Eddy Barrows and Jack Herbert, inkers Eber Ferreira and Jack Herbert, color artist Adriano Lucas, letters from Andworld Design, and cover artist Eddy Barrows with Eber Ferreira and Adriano Lucas.
Final Score: 9/10
