Image Comics 2015
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Chris Burnham
Coloured by Nathan Fairbairn
Lettered by Simon Bowland
This book has been a mindflip the entire way. That Grant can take us on such a journey is a remarkable testament to his talent. The way this story has progressed and flashbacked has made it almost undecipherable even until the end to truly understand the sheer scope of what’s really going on. Then there’s how Chris and Nathan have worked together to tell that story. With some extremely crisp, clean detailed work and then the blurred and scratchy it goes much further than mere present and past.
I love that Mr. Paul Darius still uses that drone to go around and talk to people so that we don’t really know if he’s really in space and fully infected or he’s still this respected man. His speech alone really took me to a place where I wasn’t sure if he was referring to himself or to his company or even the asteroid Xibalba. That Grant keeps us guessing and in suspense the entire time is something that makes this so freaking good.
Oh sweet mother how I enjoyed the whole Tarot reading. The cards blending everything that’s been going on so far has been fun to see. Then mix in the imagery with the ship and the monster and Xibalba well it all seems to come full circle in this way that you don’t expect. Like some bizarre memory unveiling before us.
The fragment hitting Earth and the dinosaurs not to mention the implications thereof well it all kind of makes things more complex and interesting to say the least.
I can’t really go into specifics regarding this issue because that would ruin the ending of this chapter of the story. I mean what’s real and what isn’t and how to truly blur the lines of it all is something Grant does incredibly well. I also call into question the sequence of events that we see here like visiting Xibalba or that meeting in the house with all the psychics and then being on Earth or as a piece of meat on threads being examined and used is there a real timeline for all this to have happened?
Does Nameless have any clue to what has really transpired or his role in everything that is occurring? I’m not sure but then again he’s a catalyst in the story and his role while remaining somewhat ambiguous at the end remains essential. How is that when you can’t trust your own eyes to believe what you see happening that it becomes the most wonderful experience you can have? Terrifying and thrilling, full of hope and hopelessness all together flowing through your veins like adrenaline that’s kind of how I feel reading this series.
Chris’s work on the pages and panel layouts along with some stellar artwork, with Nathan’s more than apt colouring, keep us even further on the edge of our seat as the story unfolds. The Moon, Space, Xibalba, Nameless you name it he’s got things moving here so that we are just as lost as we can be and when realizing certain truth’s we’re more than shocked we are awestruck. His work has the effect of intensifying the writing tenfold here and that makes this even more than it was.
Image is home to some of the best and that has certainly been on display here.