The end of a first act.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ben Fisher
Art: Adam Markiewicz
Colors: Adam Guzowski
Letterer: Adam Markiewicz
What They Say:
The shocking conclusion to what critics have called a “flat out impressive” series that “rewrites apocalyptic standards.” The secrets of the Divide have been revealed, but at great personal cost.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Great Divide has been a pretty fun ride all told, though I think it missed a few opportunities along the way with what it could have done and ended up feeling like it got a bit sidetracked with the reveal and events. Fisher and Markiewicz put together a fun series and this finale certainly helps tie up a few loose ends so that it can feel somewhat complete but still open enough for more, something that feels like a given with the epilogues we get. There’s plenty to like here in seeing how it comes together even if it does feel a touch rushed at times, particularly since it spends a few pages early on trying to piece everything back together. It’s useful but also feels a bit odd this late in the game.
With our main characters having been caught up in the walkabout from how everything played out with the plane and the soul box, it’s fun to see how the core trio do slowly come back together again. Paul knows that he’s better with others at this point, or at least these others, and it doesn’t take long before he comes across Maria and then the good doctor who was injured during the walkabout. There’s a fun bond in the mix here combined with their riders that makes it interesting to see how they interact and the kinds of connections they have. While they’re putting together the plan to head to Seattle, while including a nod that Maria may have an idea of what awaits them there thanks to the mention of Dr. Kaneda, they don’t get to tackle this as much as they may like.
That’s because Sebastian shows up and eventually the others from the town as well, resulting in the expected fight sequence. What I like about the back half of the book is we see Maria finally take down Sebastian and all his riders but also how she copes with them by getting a look into her mind. The representation of riders through floating TVs makes a lot of sense and giving her some time with her lost love is a really nice little moment. That eventually plays into her recovering at the same time that Paul has set things in motion for the military to find them, which in this instance is a case of being captured is the safer play than getting stuck with these wackos. This is what sets up the potential for more through the epilogues with all three clamming up once captured but knowing that there’s some potential for saving humanity out there still.
In Summary:
The Great Divide has been a fun series with a whole lot that it can do before it got caught up in some of the weirder areas. So much so that I could easy go for a reboot with something planned better for a longer run as with some tweaking this could be another Walking Dead from my point of view. The end here closes out the first chapter of the story well enough with some interesting discoveries recently and a shift to a new locale that could launch a second series into some pretty fun places. Fisher’s got some fun characters to work with and Markiewicz did a great job throughout the run to give us distinctive characters and some pretty tense moments while working through the strange kind of tension and intensity that comes with the twist of how this world works. Interesting stuff that has me hopeful for more.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: March 22nd, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
