Casanova is never going to be the book I keep expecting it to be, is it?
After the bloodshed and mayhem of last issue of Casanova, Matt Fraction really pulls back on the reins and pulls a fast one over on his audience. But maybe it’s to be expected since Cornelius Quinn is roughly Nick Fury, it would make sense that he has some of the same toys as Nick Fury including… well, that would give the issue away, wouldn’t it?
If last issue was balls-to-the-wall action, this issue is the reflective quiet-between-the-storms issue as key characters take stock of what’s happened lately and, more importantly, show how Casanova Quinn helped them out and pointed them in the right direction. For a character who started out as a self-absorbed, only out for himself thief with major daddy issue, this issue shows how others have come to view the missing Casanova– a friend who has the right words at the right time. Now after reading Casanova Luxuria, we know that Cass was someone who was learning to how to be more and how to be a genuine human being. He had plenty of failings but he tried to own up to them throughout the course of Luxuria. In this issue, we’re seeing Cass’s attempts reflected in the eyes of his friends and they don’t necessarily see the imperfections of the man but how he helped them.
It’s odd to say it but Casanova #13 is an oddly sweet book, focusing on the good side of its absent lead character while dealing with other interesting themes of family and mortality. Since the beginning of this series, Fraction has constantly shifted the tone and focus of the story and issues #12 and 13 may represent the biggest tonal shift. This issue would almost be schmaltzy but Fraction avoids that by providing a curious look at the idea of memory and mortality, particularly through the death of Ruby Seychelle, a sex robot that could easily be backed up into another copy.
As always, issue #13 is filled with fun, fantastic concepts that slightly redefine the title. After his long absence, seeing Casanova through the eyes of people that he’s saved is a different experience than reading his adventures first hand.
Casanova #13
“Some Of The Things That Happened To The Murderers and Murdered Among Us”
Written by: Matt Fraction
Drawn by: Fabio Moon
Lettered by: Sean Konot
April 9, 2008
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