Subject: Darkman Review

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 94 16:05:17 GMT

Dark Review
                           by	
			Raymond Tate

	Darkman for those not in the know is a character created by the
Raimis:Sam and Ivan, the Goldins:Dan and Joshua and Chuch Pfarrer--no
brother.  Liam Neeson, yes Schindler, breathed life into the character
in a self-entitled movie well worth checking out.

			Spoiler for those who haven't seen the movie
\
	Darkman is Peyton Westlake, a scientist who created a synthetic
skin lasting indefinitely in the dark and a mere ninety-nine minutes in
the sun.  Unfortunately for Peyton, a thug named Durant had designs on
incriminating evidence his girlfriend inadvertently left in his lab.
Durant's gang tortured Peyton.  They submerged his face in a chemical 
bath.  They blew up his lab.  Peyton survived.
	His body burned beyond recognition, Peyton made a perfect lab
rat for a mad-scientist interested in supressing pain.  Peyton escaped
the hospital and saught vengeance against the gang as Darkman.  With
his synthetic skin, he could become anyone.  Thanks to the modern-day
Frankenstein, he cannot feel physical pain.  Add those "powers" to
the incredible strength borne of his rage, and Darkman becomes a
formidible enemy and a good friend to have when walking down shadowy
alleys.

			End of Spoiler

	The true test of a book based on a movie or television series
is whether or not you can hear an actor's voice while reading the
writer's words.  I heard Liam Neeson when reading DARKMAN #1: THE 
HANGMAN.
	The plot is simple because it can happen.  There is no mystery
to solve within these pages; Boyll, whom I have never heard of until
now, relates a neo-pulp along the lines of the Shadow's vein--the black
cloaked avenger, not the invisible fruitcake on the radio.  Boyll has
a gift for three-dimensional characterization and snappy dialogue.
His choice of words in his narration is inspired, and he has a fine
sense of timing.  The book displays a good sense of humor without
ever treating the crimefighting subject as silly.  The book is classified
as horror, and there are moments of unforgettable terror thanks to the
twentieth-century Fagin--Hangman.  Suspense can be savored in one sitting,
and as you read you really care about what happens to Darkman and his
allies.  You can sympathize with his anguis and cheer him in his pursuit
of justice.  Darkman is a very ethical vigilante, and although he dishes
out his share of violence, he prefers outwitting the criminals and 
tempering his vengeance with mercy.  I look forward to the next book in
this blossoming series.  You will too.

%A Randall Boyll	
%T Darkman #1: The Hangman	
%S Darkman			
%V Number one
%I Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster
%D Feb 1994
%G ISBN 0-671-78764-0	
%O pb; price $4.99 USA