by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Russ Braun (pencils), Jose Marzan Jr. (inks), Daniel Vozzo (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)
The Story: Old Sam makes his play and the battle with the Genres comes to its bloody conclusion.
What’s Good: Little Girl Bigby Wolf is a joy to read and see. Russ Braun does a fantastic job drawing her, with the frequent scowls being absolutely priceless. Seeing the little girl do bloody battle with the Genres is hilariously good fun and the definite high point of this issue. Willingham and co. go for broke on the gore here and it’s a real laugh.
Also, as ever, the Genres provide great commentary/ satire on literature as a whole, this issue in particular focusing on Science Fiction and Fantasy. The descriptions of the individual Genres early on in the comic is clever and the calling out of SF and Fantasy’s undeniable similarities is enjoyable. I also got a good laugh out of the very first two page Babe sequence. Oh, the awkwardness… Somehow, someway, Willingham manages to lampoon Snoopy of all of things.
What’s Not-so-Good: Despite providing a laugh here and there, this issue just felt strangely lifeless; not a good thing for the second to last issue of a 9-part crossover. I think part of it comes from the feeling that some of Willingham’s writing feels rushed. Some of the words and phrasing are repeated within individual word bubbles, which is usually a no-no, and little Girl Bigby just doesn’t sound like Bigby, nor does she sound like a little girl. Bigby’s dialogue lacks the distinct voice, containing little of the customary grit.
Meanwhile, Gary is such a lost cause in this Crossover that even he himself seems aware of it. The idea of Gary as Bigby’s sidekick had so much promise, but like many things in this crossover, it came to nothing. Bigby never even acknowledges his presence, leading to Gary having no comedic foil and just being flat out unfunny and repetitive.
Also indicative of a rush-job are a couple of underwhelming story elements. Old Sam’s attempt to steal Thorn’s pen ends in uncreative and anticlimactic fashion. Why even bother include this plot element? Meanwhile, Bigby overcomes his little Girl form simply by… trying really hard. Seriously?
Not to mention that this solution to Bigby’s dilemma makes little sense given the scope of Thorn’s powers. It doesn’t make sense, but hey, Willingham knows it and says it’s due to Thorn’s being “distracted.” Lazy. Similarly, I’m not entirely sure how Gary, let alone Hillary Page, is able to recognize Jack Frost, or know who he is. Also, several of the Genres are entirely forgotten for the first half of the issue (they are not even listed as being present), and then magically show up in the second half.
Conclusion: There are a few laughs here and there, but this is a lifeless and rushed issue in an increasingly tiresome crossover.
Grade: C
-Alex Evans