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THE GUNWITCH: OUTSKIRTS OF DOOM #3
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Oni Press
Writer: Dan Brereton
Artist: Ted Naifeh
Letters: John Dranski
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.95 US |
Though I greatly enjoyed the first issue of the Gunwitch
mini-series, in the end, I was a bit disappointed in the series overall.
Brereton overcomplicates the script, and Naifeh doesn't distinguish enough
between characters, and so I spent more time trying to figure out who was who
and what was motivating them then following what should have been an
action-packed bit of horror spectacle. That isn't to say I don't appreciate some
of the work on this book, particularly the pacing of the fast-paced and frenetic
action finale, but there were too many bumps in the road and too many players to
really get and keep my attention.
The story this issue starts
out on a much clearer note than last issue, and for the most part it is actually
a really solid read. Eve's nonchalance, and even sarcastic humor, in the face of
these horrors, reminds me what a charming character she can be, and I quite
enjoyed the confrontation between Gunwitch and Tallow. In addition, the pacing
for the first half of the book is spot on, with chases and multiple adversaries
giving a sense of a multi-layered final conflict fought on several fronts.
However, there is a distinct
lack of clarity in some of the sequences. The final conflict between Tallow and
Gunwitch features some nice dialogue and a good face-off between the two, but
what exactly happens with Tallow's book is left very, very muddy and I honestly
am not sure what the result was. It may have been Eve, and that's hinted at, but
I don't know how she accomplished it.
The last few pages, though,
are where things start to go awry. Fang's arrival at the very end is too quick,
and doesn't really allow Brereton time to expand on that relationship or give
the confrontation the weight it needs. And I'm still not entirely clear on
Clarissa's story, or Cookie's, or even who the hell the guy was at the end who
was crying over the fallen Goodnight and Fang. I know that this book will
probably be collected at some point, but when it's published in serial form, the
writer and/or artist really needs to do a better job of reminding the reader who
the characters are if the conclusion of their story arcs are going to have any
meaning.
As an action comic, Gunwitch: Outskirts of Doom is pretty successful. The pacing of the action is terrific, and the conflicts between the various characters is done in a visually appealing and engaging style. However, as a companion piece to Nocturnals, Gunwitch comes up a
bit short, feeling a bit rushed in some places and confused in others.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
