by Randy Lander

FOUR WOMEN #5 Mildly Recommended (5/10) DC Comics/Homage imprint Writer/Artist: Sam Kieth Colors: Alex Sinclair Letters: Sergio Garcia Editor: Scott Dunbier Price: $2.95 US/$4.95 CAN For me, Four Women was kind of like an Oreo: There's great stuff in the middle, but the stuff that holds it together is merely OK. My expectations for something of a twist ending had been raised by speculation and by teasing solicitations, and the twist that Kieth serves up was not as unexpected as I was hoping for. Moreover, while the rest of the story has focused on a powerful event and the reactions of the characters to it, this issue, like the first one, features somewhat forced characterization and slower storytelling, which doesn't really fit in with Kieth's storytelling style as well. Four Women overall has been a great read, but I found myself a little let down with the ending. I think that a lot of the problems I had with this ending are the same ones I had with the beginning. Given the intensity of most of the story, the quiet ramp-up or finale feel out-of-synch with the rest of the story. Kieth's story has been about very traumatic and violent events, but the story ends with a whimper, with a very personal and small gesture, and it just didn't click for me. Part of that is that while I liked these characters, I never quite empathized with them the way I did with previous characters in other Kieth efforts. They started out as somewhat cardboard cliches, based on one-line descriptions, and they ended up the same way, and as a result they never really became real to me. Their circumstances and their reactions to those circumstances seemed real, but the characters themselves I never connected with. As a result, the resolutions that mostly affect the friendships between the four women didn't connect with me either. As always, though, I was impressed with the artwork, which is strange and beautiful. Seeing the story repeated, with characters in different places, was a very effective way to get across the truth visually, conveying what could easily have been a confusing revelation clearly. In addition, the use of light, just outside the blinds, as Donna has her breakthrough, was an effective and subtle bit of symbolism. I suspect that my reaction to this final issue, much like my reaction to the first issue, is tempered by my expectations quite a bit, both from my love for Zero Girl and my appreciation for the rest of the series. At any rate, though, after thoroughly enjoying most of the series, for whatever reason, the last issue was a bit of a disappointment for me. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.