Rubicon, the second story set in the Absolution universe by Christos Gage, finds our anti-hero John Dusk still on the loose and still killing the scum he was supposed to put away when he was a police officer.  He is wanted by the police, but most do not try very hard to apprehend him, not just because he is an enhancile, but because most agree, without saying it, with what he does.  A few people like his ex-fiancé will do anything to bring him in, but a select group including the mayor, go too far.  They hatch a scheme to make a deal with the devil and let loose The Polymath, the man John barely stopped before.  The problem with such a deal is that the devil cannot be trusted, and most especially not The Polymath.

It has been a long time since the last Absolution miniseries, but Rubicon picks up like no time has passed at all.  The writing by Gage is still smart and remains sharp on this police procedural meets superhero book.  On this go round though, there is a little less police and a bit more hero making it a little more mainstream in that respect, but it still contains everything that made the first series so good.  The violence is still present and quite graphic at times, but it fits the book like a glove and would not be the same without it.  One thing that Gage has also done is let his characters evolve since the last series.  Even though it has been a relatively short time span within the pages, they show some real growth such as John accepting who he is and doing what he feels he must.  Though this universe only consists of two miniseries, the advancement Gage has shown is more than some titles do in a year.

Another nice surprise is the artwork by Daniel Gete.  His work is slick, very clean and very polished.  While many other artists at the publisher tend to be a little rougher with the look of their pencils, Gete has nice clean lines and the pages are often free of unnecessary elements, yet extremely detailed when they need to be.  Particularly fantastic are the many action sequences, whether facing off with the Polymath or a scene with Happy Kitty beheading people, you could spend a lot of time just enjoying the way the page was put together as they look so good.  The issues on the whole feature some of the nicest pencils to be found in an Avatar book more recently and that is saying something as he sits in good company.  Coupled with Gage’s story, the book flows smoothly taking no time at all to read which is also a plus, as it is not drawn out just for the sake of being so.

There are a lot of things that go into making a great book and this one has a lot going for it including the aforementioned writing and art.  There are some really wonderful characters such as Happy Kitty, who has one of the best names in all of comicdom, as well as the Urban Legend, a Batman-like figure dressed in the red, white and blue, sans stars.  It has a great setting, the stalwart and ever-present, New York City and a great supporting cast made up of John’s former partners and ex-girlfriend.  The only negative that can be said of Rubicon, is that it had to end.  If any title deserved to be an ongoing, it is Absolution not just because it holds so many possibilities, but because it is unlike most anything out there right now.

4.5 out of 5