A trippy years-long backstory revealed!
Creative Staff:
Story: Max Bemis
Art: Eoin Marron
Colors: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Dale’s life has been nothing even close to normal since a flying monster descended on his planet and destroyed it, but things get even weirder as he discovers the Centipede’s history, in what can only be described as a psychedelic trip down the creature’s memory lane.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The penultimate issue of the Centipede series is certainly a curious one with what it has to accomplish. Bemis and Marron have done some very fun work so far but it has to get pretty trippy in this installment to achieve what it needs in a kind of weird symbiotic way. But, to my surprise, they pull it off pretty well and make it work. But that’s been my feeling on the series as a whole as it’s something that shouldn’t work, for the most part, but has managed to be goofy fun with some real heart and emotion to it while also peppering in just enough survival horror elements to keep it tense. But putting Dale on the ‘shrooms the last time around was something that left me a bit wary, especially with one more issue to go after this before it all wraps up.
Dale tripping on the ‘shrooms is definitely an odd experience for the reader because it asks for a couple of leaps of faith, especially in that this is just a kind of psychedelic bonding experience for him with the centipede itself. While it’s unclear how much time passes in real time with it, Dale experiences a good decade or so of life through this trip and it’s just surreal – but not as bad as it could be in a way. It gives us him being birthed as a centipede himself in that form but with his human head so we can get the communication experience and empathy with him as he processes everything. The time spent with mama centipede is interesting enough as he slowly becomes just a good puppy in a way, eager to please and glad to receive her gifts of food. That all changes when he’s shifted over to papa centipede to be taken care of, which is its own kind of bonding experience.
This one plays a bit rougher as papa is doing his best to harden him up and prepare him for the world at large with the way they have to deal with resources and threats. The beatdown is comical as is the way Dale ends up falling in line pretty hard. When he discovers he’s being sent as an offering into space by aliens in exchange for food for his father that just sets him down a darker path. One that has him being put into gladatorial games of sorts that naturally looks just like the original video game when viewed top down. This is actually interesting and well played as we see him engaged in that for nearly a decade, being worn down but also sharpened in skill, with the intent of breaking free. It all comes full circle to the reality of Dale’s situation in the real world and has him understanding his opponent – which is the first big step to truly winning.
In Summary:
Centipede felt like a bit of a lighter and faster read this time around and one that was also a bit rougher because of how you have to accept Dale in this form with what he’s experiencing. But the end result is one that brings a number of things full circle and really works well to establish the larger scope of events and what the enemy is like, one that’s very hard to humanize but is done very well here so you feel some sympathy and empathy even while still disliking it because of what it’s done. Bemis and Marron have made this series a real treat and this issue is no exception.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: November 8th,2017
Release Date: Dynamite Entertainment
MSRP: $3.99
