Explanations first, then the killing.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Dean Ormston
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Todd Klein
What They Say:
The Eisner Award-winning superhero saga returns with lots of revelations! Our heroes’ journey from Spiral City to the farm is finally revealed and will change them forever!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Events have been building well since the start of this series but the arrival of Lucy is what really shifted things into high gear. Jeff Lemire has worked a slow and steady story since then with the side expansions that have been a whole lot of fun, some of which ties back into here nicely. This issue gives us a big change ahead and that’s going to give us what will be a different book at that point. The continuity points are there, however, and that includes the great artwork from Dean Ormston. He captures so many great moments in the characters faces this time around that really works well to show what they’re feeling. Getting some time on Earth, in space, and the Para-Zone as well showcases just how good Ormston is at blending them all to feel like they can exist with each other.
Lucy’s path is what’s defining events that lead to this and the tying up of loose ends to connect it all together works nicely. The opening pages of her on Earth showing one of Talky’s satellites coming to Earth and her working with Doctor Starr in order to investigate the path of it, which reveals the first visible instance of the Para-Zone since dealing with the Anti-God, all sets the stage very well in Lucy’s journey. That helps to bring everything together with how she ended up on the farm but also the memories that Madame Dragonfly erased since she initially ended up on the ship first and saw the truth of what happened. While I’d love to see a full chronological series of events laid out sometime, what we get here brings a lot of things full circle in the series with what it has been dealing with.
Bringing everything into the present has lots of raised tensions and I love that Gail is actively trying to kill Dragonfly for what she did while Barbalien at least wants an explanation first. That’s at least better than Abe who is close to just a full on breakdown while stomping about wanting Tammy back. The reality is that the farm and all about it was just a massive spell by Dragonfly but the greater explanation of why they had to be there and in the Para-Zone all this time finally surfaces. It’s one that makes sense in trying to keep balance after the end of the Anti-God and how not doing so would cause the end of everything. This doesn’t really change much for most in their positions but it simply becomes more complicated with all that Colonel Weird has put into motion that will bring them back anyway. His skewed view of everything always makes for some wonky moments.
In Summary:
Black Hammer has been firing on all cylinders for me since the start and this issue brings a lot of story points full circle. There’s a lot of fallout to be dealt with that will take time and potentially the bigger picture itself that could come into play based on the actions taken here. Lemire sets the pace well with a good nod back at first for Lucy’s path before making sure the reality of the loss that they’re all feeling is made real. Dean Ormston has another great installment here as he captures the pain and heartbreak that Abe’s feeling and the anger from Gail within the same page. I can’t wait to see what’s going to come next.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 19th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
