Sometimes the best secrets are hidden in plain sight … except then they are not.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Joe Brusha & Hans Rodionoff
Artwork: J.G. Miranda
Colors: Leonardo Paciarotti
Letters: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Over 12 million people in the U.S. alone believe the lizard people live among us. They can’t all be wrong, can they?
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
The last thing Drew clearly remembers is leaving Taylor’s apartment after they had an argument of wanting to delve deeper into her conspiracy theories, with the latest being the internet was created to feed off humanity’s negative emotions, with they being the Lizard People or Reptilian Elite. Unable to comprehend any more supposed nonsense he regretfully leaves and finds himself confronted by a masked man who injects him with some kind of drug and then forced into a waiting car. Now he finds himself stripped naked and locked away in a dark basement, only to be shocked back from his dreary state by the flash of a lone light bulb as his jailor returns from unknown errands and they continue their conversations, with neither side progressing toward what they wish for the most – the truth. This elderly gentleman may seem harmless but after who knows how many days, or has it been weeks of constant brutal persuasion, he has not been able to break his silent prisoner. However, that tone changes when this sadist pulls forth a manila envelope containing supposedly innocent pictures, except they are images which Drew finds most revolting – the results of his parents being subjected to the same type of questioning … with deadly results.
As he was left to consider the results of his refusal to answer it does not take long before more men unceremoniously knock him unconscious again and escort him to a new location. However during his forced convalescence, it is only now does he recall the strangeness of a seemingly unrelated memory from five years ago, one as he was on patrol with his Marine squadron near the Syrian border. After clearing the surrounding area of any enemy combatants, Master-Sergeant Wilson and his men began investigating an inner compound and found a strange array of anthropomorphized reptilian statuary, but the strangest materials were exposed deeper within the hideaway. Within the confines of an inner chamber, they found a small server farm and several data cartridges emblazoned with symbols gleaned from the back of an American dollar bill: the Eye of Providence atop an unfinished pyramid and the Eagle’s shield in front of the bald eagle. However as one of his soldiers attempted to interpret the strange coding dancing across a nearby screen, their attention was soon distracted by ground shaking tremors of a nearby explosion and a sudden burst of gunfire – the insurgents had returned; but that soon would not matter as the confusion came to a sudden end with the ominous click of a trigger detonator attached to a suicide bomber who was running headlong into the room. A blinding blast and it was all over … darkness descended and his life ceased to mean anything, to himself or to others who denied the event ever happened. He lost everything that day and now it was happening all over again.
In Summary:
Since the beginning of Conspiracy it appeared writer Hans Rodionoff had a promising foundation to create a series which was unusual in its premise, however as the narrative progressed and the complexity of the themes plus separation for every issue became greater is seemed doubtful any meaningful understanding would ever evolve and now with the finale that sadly appears to be the case for the title. Even with the contribution of Joe Brusha within the conclusion, there is still nothing connecting the disparate tales aside from the ominous hand of the Illuminati, but now with their involvement seemingly made mute by the Reptilian Elite any conjecture which readers may have crafted to understand their implications now have been underwritten by this new and mysterious group. Although some may conjecture this method of subterfuge via distraction with another organization helps for them to become indistinct and allow for a more sinister agenda, to change the villains at the last minute essentially collapses any solid substructure for potential power which was built up from the beginning with this undermining plot twist. And while Drew and Taylor may have lent some intermittent interaction to the audience, their collaboration was fairly minor often acting as silent witnesses until the previous issue, but even then there were no clues indicated as to this metamorphosis of the foe. As such this sudden shift makes the story feel even more hollow since any deductions the audience may have reached for the reality the Illuminati and their machinations are now made null and void – unless the Lizard People are the true masters behind everything; and yet if this was the truth for the entirety of the title, then why did they not confess as to their cleverness in the end … after all we cannot have a sincerely clichéd villain without monologuing as to their greatness and admitting they are truly the Enlightened, but that never happened. Thus this conclusion is left wanting for something which would have interwoven everything into a worthwhile tapestry, but as it is now all we are left with is a haphazardly crafted and threadbare rug which is barely able to cover the entryway let alone the length of the hallway, presenting us with an excruciatingly straight forward series which could have been worthwhile but as it stands now leaves us wanting for a change in venue to something which can hold its own and is much more entertaining.
From the beginning of this series the amazing artwork of J.G. Miranda provided the title with an enthusiastic and optimistic outlook on the narrative, allowing the reader to approach the premise with a favorable outlook toward the topics of each issue, with Leonardo Paciarotti’s invigorating palette allowing for a constructive adaptation of the various stories to attempt to them meld into one cohesive narrative, even if it never did come to fruition. However, as we delved deeper into Conspiracy and the themes became ever more diverse and convoluted, it appeared both sides of the artwork began to reflect those paranoid delusions and thus became less animated, even for a two-dimensional medium. While Miranda was able to keep his characters expressive by allowing them to interact with the environment, it seemed as if Paciarotti’s wondrous colors began to suffer due to stagnant scenery which was too static to allow for any reflexive interaction from the actors and thus became understated and lacked in explosive tones to liven the mood. Although this finale does harken back to the beginning with more excitement and alluring tones shown in the story to allow the reader to become more involved as to the outcome of Drew’s suffering, the tale soon sinks back into its self indulgent preoccupation of the delusions and ends with talented artists attempting to appease the narrative and audience with less than welcoming interest and subdued majesty for their normal work. In short while the enthusiasm of visuals normally saves a lackluster story, in this case the combination of fixated graphics and muted palette only amplifies the plodding nature within the series giving rise to a display which does not suit their hard work and gives us pause as to wonder if it was worthy of their skills in the rambling view of the material as a whole and the title as an exception.
Conspiracy began with an interesting premise, but as the title progressed the story quickly became too convoluted to allow interaction with anything aside its own self-indulgent fantasies. And while the presentation is interesting, the lack of any reader interaction via noteworthy characters leads to a misleading interpretation of the underlying themes resulting in disappointment when the final reveal changes everything we thought for a maddening conclusion unworthy of the build up. Then add the unsatisfying graphic presentation and we are left with a series which is disappointing on many levels, but most notably the lack of guidance to show us the belief of something other than what we know may be possible … but unfortunately not for this disheartening series.
Grade: D+
Series Grade: D+
Age Rating: T (for Teens)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: May 29, 2019
MSRP: $4.99
