Going to start off the reviews of the rest of May's stuff with two books from a couple of weeks ago. One's a second issue, one the first issue of the second storyline. I try to pair these things by some sort of theme, and that was the best one I could come up with. That or both books have two writers. No, I'm not Two-Face. Don't say things like that, I'm not looking to have Batman punch my face in.
Set some time I'm assuming shortly after the end of last year's mini-series, Jenny seems to be getting treated like a dangerous criminal. of course, she beat the hell out of the guys transporting so maybe it's a valid concern. Or maybe not, because that was all an illusion created by the Director's three helper ladies, who have various mental manipulation powers. I'm sure the ability to erase or alter someone's memories won't get abused.
The Director gets Jenny on board by mentioning the threat of the Overking, aka the thing that killed Jenny's dad, and by bringing in her friend Dana to help her improve her image. Aka, make Jenny not behave like a drunken, pill-popping disaster all the time. Neither of them seems dumb enough to trust the Director about who is behind the Overking, or so it seems.
Ugh, I appreciate Dwonch and McKinney establishing right off that those three ladies can mess with perceptions, but it means I can't trust anything I'm reading in this comic. If that whole escape Jenny pulled at the start was all in her head, then the conversation in the burger joint could be as well. Certainly the "Chunker Jr." mascot coming to life seems suspect. Or, I had to go back and check the end of the previous mini-series because I couldn't remember if Jenny had a scar over her left eye. She did, but if she didn't, that might have been a clue they'd been using her for missions and erasing her memories.
King's line seems more solid than it did on the first mini-series. It was also more jagged and wobbly then. This might just be a sign of progression as an artist, or maybe it's an intentional choice. Jenny's starting to embrace her past and her heritage (including by reading her father's journal, although the Director knows she's got it). She's more stable now, more, "mature" might not be the right word, but something like that. Combined with Robles using a less glaring color palette than Dam did on the previous mini-series, and the whole thing seems more stable. Jenny's got a plan, she's got a friend she trusts and will rely on, things are possibly under control.
Or it's all in her head. I am going to second guess every conclusion or interpretation I try draw about this mini-series, I can tell.
The issue starts in a flashback to how Constance became what she is. Her mother conceived Constance (then Rosa) with a young Native American man who had been taken from his tribe and forced into service as a soldier (and thus I learn the term "genizaro). Her father objected to them getting married, killed the priest too late. Domingo got the gun and tried to protect them from his father-in-law's dog. Bullet hit the dog, but also his wife. Domingo ate the dog's blood and flesh, becoming a werewolf(?) and ran off with little Rosa.
In the present, Constance and Dooley travel to the site of that church for the earth she needs. They better hurry because she's getting hungry and he's the only immediate source of food. But someone's built something there. A church of their own, where they whip themselves and proclaim the life is the sky. Seems concerning, though not as much as the weird creatures with long, paralyzing tongues that nearly kill Dooley. Constance gets enough earth for the time being and carries him to safety. But those people are set to investigate who intruded.
Also the man who has been hunting her is actually her grandfather, Frankensteined together by, well, Victor Frankenstein is the extremely pale young man with heterochromia is telling the truth.
Obviously it couldn't be that easy for Constance to get the earth she required, although I'm not clear how much she needs. Does it have to fill a coffin? Just grabbing a handful made her strong enough to tear that little creature in half, and she seemed confident she could handle another four of them. Either way, no we've got her and Dooley, Grandpa and Dr. Frankenstein, the creepy cult, possibly the sheriff (whose loyalties are uncertain). Might need to add the tavern owner after Constance bought his place and kicked him out for being rude earlier (because he's black and correctly intuits Dooley fought for the South.) Surely that won't come back to bite anyone! No pun intended, but accepted.
On some level, it might have been more interesting if the people living on the old church site weren't up to no good. If they were innocent farmers or sheep herders, how far would Constance go? How far would Dooley go to help her? He seized the escape when she offered, but Seeley and Campbell seem to be establishing there are limits to how far Constance's protection extends. Push comes to shove, Dooley may not be anything more than a useful instrument. Or maybe she's been a vampire so long she's forgotten the limits of humans. But Terry draws Dooley as looking weary and/or terrified basically the entire issue. The life is taking its toll.
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