Creative Staff:
Story: Paul Allor
Art: Paul Tucker
Letterer: Paul Allor
What They Say:
EL is alone in the world, pursued closely by some who wish to protect him, some who wish to harm him, and some who are simply doing a job. As regular citizens react to the monster in their midst, EL begins to reconsider his choices, wondering if he should have stayed with Mateo – or sought a more permanent form of escape.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The series for Hollow Heart is one that I really do end up feeling mixed on installment to installment. I do like what Paul Allor is doing with the main story of El and Mateo, but I also enjoy the little parables that are mixed into the narration to give us something else to chew on and connect the main tale. That was a strong piece for me last time but this time it just felt like we needed more of the main story to move forward. Paull Tucker’s artwork feels quite right for this project as we get some great expressions out of El for and some really neat layouts in general. That combined with the color design and just the way the cast connect makes it an easy read to go through.
With EL out in the world now, having made his departure from Mateo and his place to find his own now as he doesn’t intend to be caged, EL is the talk of the town. He’s flashing across everyone’s phones with his presence out there and it’s attracting a lot of attention. We get this as the other corporate woman is called in to deal with EL being on the loose, though she refuses to since it’s Holly’s issue and not her department that lost EL. She’ll get to EL when EL ends up in her hands eventually and she won’t get involved when it’s not her issue. She’s providing the narration here, though I don’t think her name is used at all, and the tale is an amusing if simple one that does run alongside EL’s story in a general kind of sense, though it applies more to Mateo in some ways in losing what he’s taken.
Following EL as he basically smashes his way around town is interesting, especially once Holly gets involved as she tries to talk him down. She slowly realizes that he’s not existing in the here and now like she is and is instead having a conversation with someone else, presumably Mateo with what he’s saying, and that gets her to try and get Mateo on board with helping out in securing him. There’s still some wishy-washy aspect with Mateo here in how he’s kind of reluctant to help out that I can’t quite pin down but it’s obvious with the way EL is going that it’s not going to take long before he’s back where he started and we might start getting to the truth of what this series is all about.
In Summary:
That’s where I sit with Hollow Heart at this point. Five issues in and it’s been an interesting experience but it really needs to start saying what it wants to do and be about. It’s had some neat moments, and I liked EL being brought into Mateo’s home, but I’m unsure of where it wants to go and do at this point within the larger work. I like the narration stories and the artwork is really neat, especially with what EL is itself, but it feels like it still really needs a purpose.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: July 7th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99