A most appropriate ending.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Jeff Lemire
Letterer: Steve Wands
What They Say:
Stuck in an urban labyrinth of his own torment, melancholy building inspector Will and his talking canine companion fight their way through a dangerous metropolitan maze and head underground on the hunt to find his long-gone daughter.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a lot of things covered over the first four issues, the final installment brings us something that definitely gives us the kind of closure that we were hoping for with it as we follow Will and his story. This series had definitely caught my attention and each installment has kicked around in my brain for days and days after each issue. The story is one that feels like others of this nature from him with something darkly personal and delivered with the kind of stylized artwork that’s appropriate for it, very rough, kind of angular, sparse in color design but still distinctive. And at the same time, it delivers something that is really intense and captivating in a way that you can’t get from a lot of other series.
With Will having made his way down into the underside of the maze, even though the dog Verne had said not to go there, he had his confrontation with the minotaur-thing that was there. But that encounter has now left him off-balance and on the move again, taking him closer to his destination as he follows the string. But prior to that we get to see how things were between him and Wendy when she was in the hospital, giving us some time to really know Wendy just a little bit, and it’s engaging as she reveals how scared she was and how he was doing everything he could to soothe her. But it’s a sequence that’s so filled with emotion that it really does hit a big moment and delivers all the feeling it needs to. The weight of the events at hand really is powerful here.
When Will finally does get to the end of the red string, it’s the room where Wendy resides, or rather, all of his memories with Wendy. It’s not an unfamiliar tact to use but it works well here as she’s delighted to see him, as he really hasn’t thought of her beyond the missing of her for so long, and the two reconnect beautifully. But she also makes sure that he doesn’t stay here because he has so much to live for, that he can’t just be a memory like her at this point. It’s heartwrenching in the way that you want, allowing you to feel but also to know that it’s time to put parts of this to a close. So watching Will go through this, to pull himself out of what he’d fallen into, and to start to live again and to allow himself to actually do so, it’s a beautiful way to bring the series to a close.
In Summary:
I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this series but I’m always going to trust a Jeff Lemire project when it’s one of his original works. Even when it doesn’t work, it works. This one probably could have been an issue shorter and a little tighter but that’s the worst I can say about it. It’s not an unfamiliar concept but the execution was strong and I really like getting a chance to see Lemire’s artwork from time to time because it is distinctive and interesting. This series works through some hard material at times and material that will resonate well with those that have had real heartache in their lives like the characters here has, and that just speaks to it so well. Definitely recommended.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 12th, 2022
MSRP: $3.99
