A quick run to completion, but a worthy one.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Tyler Crook
Letterer: Tyler Crook
What They Say:
Unbelievable Unteens comic book artist Jane Ito finds her world turned upside down after discovering her comic book creations were real and she was one of them. As she and the Unteens reunite and put the pieces together they take on the forces that disbanded them for one final fight.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The fourth and final issue of the series reminds me how much I enjoy miniseries that run just this many issues. So many books overstay their welcomes with a decompressed approach for so long that it’s hard to connect with them when it takes half a year to get through. Here, Lemire’s script is solid and engaging as it moves between the various versions and keeps it all straight and clear for the reader. Once again, this is made all the more enjoyable by Tyler Crook’s artwork. His work is often far more intense than I’m usually game for, but the result is something with real passion, detail, and true artistry to it. I really like his illustrative approach on this one with the color design that gives it a really neat cohesive look and feel that hits up some prior age nostalgia but is still very much in the here and now.
Being a final issue means that things might feel rushed at some points but for an older reader like myself, this reminds me of the stuff I grew up on in the 80s. The opening gives us some time with Jack and expands the Black Hammer universe a bit more with another character, but it also reinforces that Jack is going to go the distance in trying to help Snapdragon. But where the book wants to spend some of its quality time is in dealing with things between Karl and Jane as he comes to visit her and apologize for the past a bit, especially since he’s married with kids now. It’s not a long conversation but Karl comes across well in how he explained things to his wife – revealing his powers no less – and that he does wish they could have seen what could have been. But he reaffirms that he loves his family and his life and has no intentions of disrupting that.
All of that leads to them wanting to deal with helping Snapdragon and that has them heading back to the hospital. Which, naturally, does not please Carlos as he just wants everyone to leave and to just quietly watch over Snapdragon as part of his pledge. But what I like is that with everyone there, we see that what happened to them “waking up” is now happening to Snapdragon, just from where she’s being kept by Wraith. With that and the gang going in to rescue her, it’s a mad dash to work through things with a great use of panels for efficiency and deliver an engaging fight that lets the team shine. The battle isn’t the real story, rightly so, and watching the group dynamics play out and decades of suppressed growth for these characters surface and unfold makes for a great ending. I loved the unexpected choice that Snapdragon makes and that we see Jane and Carlos actually trying to move past all of this. It’s a lot of quick little moments, but the battle and its epilogue deliver.
In Summary:
I’ve been enjoying pretty much all of the spinoffs from the main book as it’s given me a nostalgic look at the past of my own comic book history but with the right kind of self-aware aspect and modernization it needs. It doesn’t wholesale update it because it doesn’t need to but rather tweaks and toys with so that it can be enjoyable both to new and old fans alike. Lemire’s script does some neat stuff in fleshing out the world and I loved the character connections. Tyler Crook has really outdone himself with the designs, from the comic book view to the real-world portion, while also delivering on Wraith and all the supernatural. I just adored the visual design for this book and its color work which binds it all together perfectly.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 10th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
