By Joe Kubert (story, art, colors) Pete Carlsson (colors)
The Story: In this final chapter of the series, Tor and the two other survivors of his group attempt to journey back to his homeland. But all is without incident! The group is confronted with the harsh realities of scaling an impossible mountain and the beasts that rule the land.
What’s Good: This book, not to mention entire series, has been so masterfully drawn that there’s absolutely no need to read the narrative (if you wish). Joe Kubert’s visual storytelling is organic, intuitive, and timeless. It may a little light on plot, but it’s entertaining throughout, taking the reader to a fantastical place that’s filled with imagination.
The final journey of Tor and his group is a harrowing one that tests their limits. There’s also a couple of surprises and a tragic loss that come very unexpectedly.
What’s Not So Good: I’ve got a problem with Tor’s logic. I know he’s a prehistoric man and probably not the most intelligent guy around, but based on his track record in this book (he’s got a lot of ingenuity), you’d think he’d be smart enough NOT to take a woman and child up a dangerous frozen rock of a mountain. I mean, couldn’t they have just gone around the mountain? It’s portrayed in such a menacing way that only a fool would attempt to climb it (and its almost pure vertical structure).
Speaking of rocky, the narrative is also a bit too rigid at times. It almost feels like Kubert is digging into his thesaurus, grasping for big words to bolster his writing cred. There’s no need for this. This is a caveman book – keep it simple. It feels forced when I’m reading this book and come across these crazy adjectives!
There’s also a bit too much redundancies (Tor does this. Tor does that), for my tastes.
Conclusion: This series could have easily been concluded with issue #5 – it had all the makings of a satisfying ending. While things don’t feel forced with this issue, the lack of any real resolution to Tor’s fate may leave an bad taste in some readers’ mouths. I’m hoping Kubert has enough energy to do another series, because there’s stuff here that needs to be resolved. That, and the series is a joy to read.
Grade: B+
– J. Montes