I’m calling it here right now for all to see: James Tynion IV starts his run as an ‘A’ writer with Talon #0. Everything that made me feel the same way with Scott Snyder is how I’m feeling with Mr. Tynion. Here’s a guy who literally came from no where and now has blasted his way into being one of the best writers DC has to offer. I know it’s a lot to boast with only one full issue (and several back ups) to go with this. But trust me on this guys, Talon #0 shows the the real deal.

This book is a bit of a tough sell because it is a spin off of a major Batman event. But instead of making that a mountain to climb, Tynion gives us a compelling reason to care for Calvin Rose. His back story is very intriguing from his childhood, which I’m sure will be brought up again, to how he quickly went up the ranks of the Court of Owls. Considering how even Bruce Wayne struggled to deal with the Court of Owls, Rose’s lack of effort is quite astonishing. But Tynion doesn’t write it as a cop out and through out this issue we can easily believe why he is a great trick artist. I hope we get to see more of the Court of Owls leaders because we get to see more of them and yes they are still creepy. (You can never fail with a creepy child in a mask either)

Another tough sell for me was the fact that Guillem March as artist. He is a guy I am not a huge fan of, well to be fair he has won me over before. In AZAREL, he did a great job and he made me realize he can be more then just a cheesecake artist. Of course that is why DC pays him the big bucks (and put him on Catwoman) so you don’t see a lot of non-cheesecake work by him. For a first start on this series, we get no cheesecake at all which is the first good sign. When he’s doing more then cheesecake, I can really tell why he is a talent artist. The layouts in this issue are dynamic and when it comes to the action you really pay attention to them. He doesn’t go full on ‘Neal Adams’ in his layouts but you can tell he has been influenced by him. That and Manga; there is definitely a manga influence to his action like when the car falls into the river. The only thing that still bugs me about his art, and it’s minor, his how he draws eyes. Normally they are fine but in action they get really tiny and almost have a lifeless feel to them. Again I see a Manga influence there but it is off putting to see at times. Apart from that though, this is a big upgrade if you didn’t like what you saw in Catwoman.

As you can tell from this review, I absolutely loved this issue. For a first, ongoing attempt by James Tynion IV this is an instant home run for me. Calvin Rose is a very intriguing character and the use of the Court of Owls benefits the story and doesn’t make it feel like a cheap tie-in. With improved Guillem March art added in you got the making of a nice, under the radar hit for DC. Well I hope it gets more then under the radar praise. This series has a great chance of being a big hit because of the talent involved. Don’t miss out on this series guys because, apart from his wonderful back ups in Batman, this is where I think we’ll see the rise of James Tynion IV at DC Comics.