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FOUR WOMEN #3
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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DC Comics/Homage imprint
Writer/Artist: Sam Kieth
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Sergio Garcia
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Price: $2.95 US/$4.95 CAN |
Though I'm unsure if what we're seeing is what truly happened, I am quite enthralled by the story unfolding in Four Women at this point. The
mini-series is an exercise in decompressed storytelling, examining a single
horrific incident through the use of several issues, and the length of the story
serves to make the horror of the moment worse, as well as to examine in detail
the reactions of the women to the events. Keith's artwork would seem a little
too unrealistic and exaggerated to suit such a relatively mundane type of story,
but instead the energy and style he has helps to really bring out the violence,
emotional and physical, being done to the characters.
The use of a dialogue between
Donna and a therapist (presumably) helps to keep the reader at a distance,
reading the story from a more comfortable distance. This is an important
element, because the events going on here are terrible and unpleasant, and Kieth
is presenting them with an unflinching nastiness. His villains are cartoonish in
their grotesque appearance, but there's enough reality to them that their
cruelty feels real, and the same is true for the situation that Cindy finds
herself in.
It wasn't until this issue
that I realized what a short space of time we're reading about. The establishing
of the characters in the first issue was a little clumsy and rushed, but it has
served to give Kieth time to play out the rest of the story much more slowly.
Events such as Marion's control over the door locks or the battle between the
women to get out and help Cindy play out in almost painful slow motion, and the
pacing allows for more room for the detached voices of Donna and her therapist
to analyze what's happening.
Kieth's artwork continues to
impress and, amazingly, continues to improve. The feeling of chaos and
claustrophobia inside the crushed car is very powerful, and I love how he shifts
perspective so that we can see the point of view of various characters. In
addition, there are always moments where his exaggerated and wild style gives
way to absolute clarity, such as the close-up on Marion's face as she looks at
Donna with compassion. But then, the expressions of emotion from the characters
are all very strong, from Bev's frustration to Donna's anger to the confusion
and leering hunger on the face of the rapists.
There's a certain familiarity
of elements to all of Kieth's work, which tends to be female-oriented and focus
on the power struggle between men and women. However, this is the first time
he's really distanced himself from any kind of magic or weirdness and just told
a story that involves the horrors that people can inflict on one another without
any kind of help from other worldly beings, and so far it's paying off in a
psychologically chilling and engaging story.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
