A solid conclusion.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ted Anderson
Art: Jen Hickman
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
What They Say:
After a stunning revelation about their parents from their unexpected new ally, Niki is ready to take the fight to Ambrose Wolfe once and for all. Taking out the most powerful man in the city won’t be easy when he knows they’re coming — but then, the Moth and the Whisper are known for accomplishing the impossible…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Moth & Whisper series draws to a close, with a “for now” basically attached to it, and it all comes together well. While some of what Ted Anderson does here might feel a little too pat and neat when you get down to it, it works in the way that this genre usually does and it leaves me pretty happy and hopeful for more. Jen Hickman delivers well with the final as we get some great scenes, such as when the lights go out, in how everything is put together and I love the way Nikki envisions his parents with how that’s presented, though it all left me wanting a bit more of that in this issue with some of the creativity she got to employ throughout the series.
Nikki’s intent on taking down Wolfe is certainly earned after all that’s happened and what they’ve been through, so working with newfound friend Moira along with Walter makes a lot of sense. They all have reason to be involved and the subtext of some potential between Nikki and Walter works wonderfully since it’s really not played in a blunt way like some other books might. Moira does make things happen a bit easier here than it should since she’s able to provide some cover and access that Nikki didn’t have access to, but it sets up for what’s important in figuring out a way to really cut Wolfe off at his knees and make him pay for what happened. There’s almost too easy of a bond with Moira but it’s something that you can gloss over a bit in a five-issue run.
The bulk of the book focuses on the mission to infiltrate Wolfe’s old school network that has a lot of protections to it. The subterfuge being played is obvious enough with what Walter and Nikki are doing here but the full-court press they apply to it is a lot of fun as they basically play Wolfe and his overconfidence just right. It’s the kind of defeat you want to see for a villain like this and the kind of gloating that Waverly gets to do is delightful. Not that Waverly is a good guy but he plays within the more traditional model of what Nikki understands this place to be better under, and allows for him to take on the role of thief for hire while protecting himself easily enough with a few owed favors. Nikki and Walter’s scenes are the better character parts, in small and in large, so it’s a lot of fun to watch that unfold throughout here and end on them as solidly as it does.
In Summary:
While Ido think that the first issue was the strongest of the series and some of those strengths didn’t carry through fully, Moth & Whisper was a really strong and enjoyable series across the board. Anderson captured the world well and gave us a lot of interesting characters with a lot of room for potential and exploration. Hickman put together a strong visual design for it with some really great creative moments and layouts that delighted me as I moved from page to page and linger on. I’m hopeful for more stories about Nikki (and Walter) in the future and that people discover this book more when it hits the trade format as it should find a good audience.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: January 9th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
