The.. final chapter? Already?
Creative Staff:
Story: Frank Tieri
Art: Felix Ruiz
Colors: Kelly Fitzpatrick
What They Say:
“Damned, Part 4” Mike Minetta has not been the Hangman long but he already faces the hardest decision any Hangman has ever had to make — let his family die… or save them and defy the will of Heaven and Hell itself!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the third issue out back in March, it’s been a while since we’ve see The Hangman – to the point where I wondered if I missed a bunch of issues. But no, the series has struggled to get this issue out for reasons unknown and as it lands we also discover that it’s the final issue. Not that it ends with anything feeling like finality or closure, something that just makes it all the worse because of the amount of potential to be had here. Tieri’s got some great material to work with and Ruiz brings it to life with all of its raw beauty that I really don’t want them to let this go.
The main focus here is that we get Minetta making his play against the devil, who of course is in the form of a six-year-old girl, to make it clear that the devil reneged on the deal and he’s not able to protect his family based on the deal that was made. Suffice to say, he’s throwing in his lot with Asmodeus in order to do what he needs to and that’s not going to sit well with the devil. That sequence alone plays out wonderfully as we get these two elder demons going at it in the form of young children and the devil unable to truly complete the deal because it would upset Him to do that to the host body itself. The devils power is made clear here and it works well to establish just how far he’ll go to ensure things goes the way he wants it to.
For Minetta, his story is all about revenge here as the brother of the guy he offed is intent on dealing with his anger about it. With Minetta dead that doesn’t leave him much option so he decides to go after the widow and child, which doesn’t fly well with his partner but you know you can’t get through to some people. It turns into a solid action sequence as Minetta arrives in full hood and gear and just starts whaling on him, something that Ruiz really hits his stride with even as we get Tenant telling him not to cross the line because the guy isn’t on the list. All of this leads towards a different confrontation that’s just frustrating because it speaks of more to come but it’s hard to tell at the moment whether there will be – and if there is, will it actually arrive considering the problematic production schedule of just these four issues.
In Summary:
Is this the end? Apparently so. Everything feels open ended but no other issues are solicited and it comes across as the start of everything and not the end. That said, considering it’s been seven months between issues and the Dark Circle Comics line in general comes across as incapable of handling a schedule, it might as well be the end. Which is unfortunate because The Hangman has a lot going for it and a lot that can be explored. Tieri’s script is solid here as it plays out and Ruiz handles the action sequences wonderfully with the pacing and layouts while also delivering some fantastic expressions with Minetta as he deals with everything. I think I’ve liked this character more than the other Dark Circle titles so I’m certainly hoping that this isn’t the end of the line for him.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Circle Comics
Release Date: October 26th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
