The Ultimate Urban Legend Vigilante
The Good: The cover is easily some of John Byrne's best work. The cover is just so raw and butch, incredibly masculine, and chock full of a sense that someone is overccompensating for something, or perhaps repressed desires. Kobatl's face is just so full of psychotic rage and angry tension, deseprately clutching his staff with inesely tight grip, gripping the pole between his legs. Whatever it is Kobalt does, he's driven to do it, and he gets off on it.
The issue title is absolutely brilliant, refering to the specific absolutely vital phone call at the end, but also the calling that Kobalt feels to fight crime the way he does.
It's very early on that I can see Rozum's touch in this series, the panel layouts are very carefully chosen. Everything is so delicately put together to create optimum tension, driving the story so perfectly.
Kobalt is a ridiculously over the top character. He's Batman meets The Punisher. He's brutal as hell, but also in incredibly inventive strategist who weilds fear as his most important weapon. He's as silent and brooding as The Punisher, but he's even more of an urban legend than either of the two. Again, like Shadow Cabinet is the most secret secret society, Kobalt is the most mythical urban legend charactr.
Unlike Red Lanterns and their 'slow build with no payoff for 3 issues and maybe beyond' seemingly unrelated subplot, Kobalt has a seemingly unrelated subplot that paces perfectly alongside Kobalt's, and the two come crashing together right as the issue ends.
The Bad: I don't feel that Clover served much of a role other than to show us that Kobalt is definitely a loner.
In Conclusion: 5/5
Kobalt is another worthy addition to the Milestone line. It takes a few standard plot types, mixes them together in an interesting way, ramps things up to 11, and then writes them in the best damn way possible. Kobalt is a genuine psychopath, and it's good to have him on the side of justice. But his life is about to be turned upside down by some odd circumstances. Kobalt carries a terrifying presence that's perfectly enhanced by John Rozum's stellar writing and Arvell Jones' nice wild artwork.