2 out of 5

Probably way over-simplifying my internet search, but resolving my “what’s up with the title?” question – as it’s not a phrase or term used anywhere in the story – blackening is a process by which steel is strengthened.  That checks out, as Massimo Rosi’s sci-fi tale posits a world in which a plague has led humanity to start using robotic bodies – maintaining, from their icky old selves only their fleshy, organic brains – and protagonist Anthony, attempting to get over the tragedy of his murdered husband and missing daughter, does some Robocop upgrades to track down the perps, perhaps, we’ll say, ‘blackening’ his metal flesh, and then something something his soul at the same time.

Robocop is the immediate nod to that main plot concept, and it carries through to some of the corporation commentary that Rosi very lightly touches on, but there are some other things that occasionally take precedence: a Blade Runner human vs. machine conversation, as there are certainly those who opt for fully mimicking robots, and then those who have re-inserted further “human” elements into their bodies; a dash of police procedural, with a gutsy, too-cool-for-school cop trying to keep Anthony grounded while he does some investigating into matter on his rogueish own; an incredibly unexplored thread regarding Anthony’s still-human daughter – Skye – being used for some vague research; and a gang takeover, featuring gang names like Rattlers, and a boss guy named Teethgrinder.

Yes: it’s a handful of dystopian / cyberpunk tropes, mixed and matched.  To start, though, it actually works pretty well: while the husand-dead/daughter-kidnapped/robo-upgrade bit happens in a rush, launching us into the action, Anthony’s plight is well-written, from his shock to his frustration with the police for focusing on the wrong aspects of the case.  The copper, Detective Arnhem, is a total stock character, but the balance between his investigation and Tony’s sinking into dark places and thoughts is a tried-and-true structure, and it allows Rosi to flesh out some details of his world.

And then… it just starts to get progressively dumber.  Tony’s upgrades, although it’s never mentioned, apparently come with preprogrammed fighting skills as well, as he becomes the ultimate badass warrior.  There are suddenly zero stakes, as it seems that Tony’s new robot suit overpowers any gun, rocket, knife, laser, martial artist, etc. and etc., and late in the game, Rosi realizes he has to justify why / how Anthony could afford this thing on the black market, and why it’s the only one of its kind, and it requires too many throwaway, who’s-this-character-again? scenes to do so.  Arnhem becomes totally unimportant to the story, and while I initially loved that Anthony’s marriage to his husband, Luke, is never discussed or hinted at as being out of the ordinary – suggesting this pseudo-future is, at least, an accepting place – eventually there’s a bad guy who starts tossing around the term ‘faggot,’ which I guess you could justify as being “because he’s a bad guy,” it instead feels out of place; anachronistic in Rosi’s world, making its sudden appearance rather lazy writing.

The series manages to hold on, just by putting all its weight into momentum, propelling Anthony through endless slaughters to find his daughter, but its final issue resolves nothing in favor of setting up a sequel, reminding us that very little of The Blackening’s ideas have been explored at all in our past six issues.

Amigo’s us-usual dodgy English is present, though once co-editor Lorenzo Molinari joins, it significantly improves.  There’s also a juggling of artists and colorists, though, starting with the strongest – Eduardo Mello and colorist Anelli – establishing the bright hues and loose style of the book, and then handing it off to other duos after a couple issues, never quite feeling as solid as Mello’s take.  Monkey Typers do an impressive lettering job, though, with distinct fonts and good placement throughout.

So, thus far, Amigo still very much feels like ‘the house that El Torres built.’  Other writers’ series have a lot of promise, but only a couple have actually proven worthwhile.