By: Terry Moore (writer/artist)
The Story: Malus/Jet is up to some mischief.
Quick Review (with SPOILERS): The highlight of this issue was the whole relationship and interplay between Malus, Zoe and Jet. It really shows off Terry Moore’s talents as a cartoonist as so much of the storytelling is carried by his art more than the words. Now that Malus has possessed the body of Jet, Moore has to walk this tightrope between drawing a Jet that has the normal facial expressions of an attractive, 20-something woman and the sinister look of Malus. It’s hard not to be amazed at how Moore can ace these panels with just the facial expressions and not require lots of exposition; he can just draw Jet looking wicked and not need a, “Mwuhahah, now I’ve got you!” bubble.
What’s even more impressive about this is that Moore is doing this in a mostly realistic style. A realistic style doesn’t allow for as much overacting as someone who is more cartoony (like Skottie Young), so Moore has to sell all these complex emotions with slightly pursed lips, reflective dots on the eyeballs, arched eyebrows, etc. It’s really amazing.
Getting back to the story, the centerpiece is Malus/Jet confronting Zoe in the hospital. It’s a very powerful scene as Malus/Jet is so horrid. Gah! Her/His threats about what she’ll do to Zoe?!?!? It’s just uncomfortable to hear this type of language coming from a pretty 20-something woman and seeing it directed at a ~13 year old girl laying in a hospital bed. The scene here is juxtaposed against the normal dynamic of caring and compassion that normally accompanies that visual. Is that why it hits so hard?
And, then we see Malus switching hosts to a priest. It’s all just so dirty feeling. Is the priest going to go back and rape Zoe? Is the priest/Malus going to be active against the reincarnated witches? You’d have to think that the church was involved in the initial persecution of the witches (that started this whole mess), so it makes one wonder if Malus was involved back then too. Is Jet dead now? And what side is Rachel on?
This is a difficult series to “review” as I tend to find myself writing a “recap”, but I hope you can tell that it is an outstanding comic book.
Conclusion: Another splendid issue. If you like non-Big 2 comics, this is must read stuff. And, it is coming out very regularly, so there’s no reason to wait until it is over.
Grade: A-
– Dean Stell
Grade
Conclusion