Pinpoint: Collected Edition - Second Sight Publishing [Part One]

PINPOINT: COLLECTED EDITION, December 2020

Wall-to-wall with testosterone-filled combat, as well as featuring an enthralling plot containing missing agents, a mysterious island “which emits some sort of nigh-undetectable natural radiation” and a gang of ruthless killers, it’s doubtful many fans of Alfred Paige’s titular creation will be disappointed with Philipp Morgan’s script for this opening third to “Pinpoint: Collected Edition”. Indeed, any initially dubious bibliophile should find themselves instantly hooked by this trade paperback's combination of plain-talking dialogue and explosive action sequences just as soon as they encounter its opening flashback depicting the Black Ops operative’s torrid time serving in Afghanistan.

Admittedly, the arrogant “rough man” himself is arguably somewhat dislikeable as he contemptibly outraces two police patrol vehicles to ensure he arrives at his meeting with Avery Davis on schedule, and subsequently just hands his motorcycle helmet to the well-spoken women waiting in the wings to welcome him. But Washington’s brashness is soon shown to simply be the veteran soldier’s way of surviving the harsh environments he regularly finds himself inhabiting, even when surrounded by a murderous mob of heavily-armed children determined to discover what the man has in his luggage; “What the hell is wrong with you kids!! Tell your boys to put the guns down and you might even live to see puberty.”

Equally as intriguing as Pinpoint’s very personal motivation for accepting such a lethal-looking mission is the way this publication’s storyline is actually plotted. Initially beginning with James’ aforementioned military time inside the landlocked Islamic Emirate, the audience are suddenly brought bang-up-to-date with a chairbound James being horribly tortured by the very criminal he visited Eden to encounter, before being unceremoniously deposited back to the bald-headed agent’s initial briefing by Davis at an undisclosed security facility somewhere within the United States’ capital. This rollercoaster of a ride only really settles down once Washington is aboard a containment vessel heading for the island, and does a sterling job in showing how maniacally murderous a pathway the lone ‘cutthroat’ is travelling along.

Edson Alves is also a pivotal part of the successful storytelling taking place within this graphic novel's first twenty-five pages. The artist imbues Pinpoint with all the muscled mass a reader would arguably expect from an operative who heavily relies upon physical intimidation to see him safely through a dangerous scenario, and undoubtedly pencils one of this comic’s highlights when James angrily stubs out his cigar in the left eye socket of an unwisely belligerent bartender.

Story: Alfred Paige, Plots/Scripts: Philipp Morgan, and Pencils: Edson Alves