“Favors”
Creative Staff:
Story: James Patrick
Art: Marco Locati
Letterer: Rachel Deering
What They Say:
The dragon $&#% has hit the fan. It’s all but certain that the dragon is going to destroy Green Village, and the people who couldn’t or wouldn’t leave the neighborhood are going to die. Sonny Campisi has one last desperate chance to save his home, but he’s going to need help from the most unlikely source.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Campisi finishes out its run with this issue and I’m definitely feeling that this works best as a four-issue run. I’m glad that series writer James Patrick didn’t try to extend this to six issues with side quests or extensive flashbacks as what we got was definitely enough. Keeping the focus largely on the present and with Sonny was definitely the right approach. There’s a density to the world that he’s presenting here and it takes a bit of time for it to really reveal the story itself. Marco Locati had a strong first installment when it came to the artwork and here he once again captures the “neighborhood” feeling well while also really getting into some great character designs as we’re introduced to more people.
With the time almost up, there’s a really somber feeling in the air in Green Village. One that the book extends to the past at first as we see how the ancestor dealt the blow to the final female dragon that was alive and left this one ready for a lifetime of revenge ahead of him. There is the moment where things stop from full-on extinction, but it’s that too little too late thing and only serves to cause more problems across the centuries. For Sonny in the present, he’s realizing that he’s failed at this point and is ready for a final kind of negotiation. But he has to deal with Rossi first, who blames Sonny for the failures of all of this and even tries to get his own guys to off him. The reality is that as long as Sonny is alive, he’ll try to fix this so it makes sense to keep him alive, even if it’s just for a few minutes more.
The final negotiation does get a bit of help as Lou shows up to see the dragon, figuring it’s worth seeing one in this lifetime, but he also has the Stray with him in the trunk, which means a dead body to try and bring to the negotiating table. What works with all of this is that it just puts more complications in front of Sonny but he’s still willing to try and find a solution and work with the dragon. The back and forth is handled well, especially the way Sonny talks about Green Village, which helps to show the path forward even if it is one that isn’t going to land well for a lot of the residents here. But watching it all go so close to the edge and for Sonny to find a way where the dragon gets what it wants and Sonny does as well in protecting the place definitely hits a sweet spot.
In Summary:
The epilogue for this is fairly minor overall but it definitely does what it needs to and shows there’s always a possibility for more. I don’t think Campisi needs more because Sonny’s story is so firmly rooted in this place and what it means to him that to try and move him elsewhere won’t connect as well. But that could also be exactly what it needs to find another path to move forward with. It’s a solid issue that brings to a close a good series. James Patrick didn’t waste time or space with it as it’s efficiently told in an engaging way while Marco Locati’s artwork is properly distinctive and really made it stand out with interesting character designs and that of the dragon as well. It’s definitely fun and will make for a good collected release to binge on.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: December 1st, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
