Hard Case Crime/Titan Comics 2017
Written by Sylvain Runberg
Illustrated by Manolo Carot
Lettered by Phillipe Glogowski
Translated by Rachel Zerner
Lisbeth Salander, recovering from her confrontation with her father and the head wounds she received in the process, was determined to piece together the final clues and get revenge on all those who hurt her. But suddenly her enemies are turning on themselves and wiping out each other, while continuing to hurt the people Lisbeth cares most about. Realizing she can no longer act alone, Lisbeth reached out to her old friend Mikael Blomkvist, before throwing herself to the mercy of the Swedish legal system…
I’m so glad that Sylvain is back to keep the series feeling like it should. He has one of the best eyes and minds for taking a printed novel and serialising it in comic book form that I’ve ever seen. Also while the tone of the new books don’t have the same feel to them you’d never know that through the comics. I love that Mikael and Lisbeth still feel like the same characters we first met and fell in love with and even the gradual softening of Lisbeth’s hard outer shell all of these things we see from how Sylvain borrows from the books making it feel natural is a skill.
The way this book is structured is exceptional and the ebb & flow of how we see the events unfold is utterly delightful. Seeing all the players and I do mean all of them reacting to Lisbeth turning herself in, which is probably both the craziest thing she’s ever done and the smartest thing she could do, is priceless. The way we see the scramble of folks trying to cover their arses and get in the clear is almost comical. To think one young woman and by extension on magazine owner/reporter can cause a secret society that basks in its own glory and power can make them crumble so easily. I do like the chain of events we see unfolding and their repercussions. This is why we keep coming back for more because the characters and the story behave in ways we think of as being rational and real even if a bit mystifying.
Now the real question is have all the loose ends been tied up? I can’t imagine that every single person has been caught, tried and sent off to jail for their roles in what has happened. Also the effect that Lisbeth has had on the country’s institutions. I mean while she may be free and exonerated that doesn’t mean she’s beloved she’s done a lot of damage in her quest for justice for what was done to her and others. Folk hero, urban legend yeah those will come with time but for now it’s time for her to try and put the pieces of her life back together. Though I have to wonder will she ever be able to trust anyone again? Even Mikael?
Manolo is a decent artist but I’m not sure his style is right for this. I mean it’s not as detail oriented and his people’s faces have this weird thing about them that doesn’t always look normal. In his favour the use of backgrounds here is fantastic and in some cases better than the foreground. The use of page layouts and the angles and perspective that we see in the panels shows a solid eye for storytelling. The best page he’s got here is #44 and that really is a wow moment where his style is most effective.
There are so many moments in this issue and the come at you pretty hard as they are woven into the pure storytelling aspect of things. From shock value to settling debts to having to run for your life all of this is expertly laid out before us. At this point once the book adaptations are done I think Sylvain should keep going coming up with his own adventures for the pair!