Spinner Rack Comics 2013
Written by Tom Stillwell
Illustrated by Jim Terry
Coloured by Rachelle Rosenberg
Lettered by Jason Arthur
Joe and his makeshift crew of Keepers threw a monkey wrench into the trolls’ plans by rescuing kidnapped kids from their evil clutches. Plus we learned of Joe’s first troll kill.
It’s time for retribution for the rescuing of those children as the trolls make an assault on Underground Chicago. It’s been a few day since the Keepers crew attacked the warehouse and Terry’s been hurt. Meanwhile the troll who has been living among the homeless has gone to the trolls where he’s being forced to betray those he calls friends.
What Tom does here is pretty great as he weaves all the aspects of this story into the finale. Terry’s law practice for instance he comes to realisation that he’s no longer going to be able to live above ground and be what we commonly call a weekend warrior it’s a great bit of writing as we see him come to that conclusion. Then there’s been Joe and his leadership which extends to Terry and the conversation they have while he’s in the infirmary bed. There’s a bit of grudging respect there under that gruff exterior and while his patience might be running paper thin you still see the bond they’ve grown to have on display.
The way this story has been crafted so that we see minimal amount of gore in the violence is something to appreciate. Yeah we get arms ripped off and see the after effect but for all intents and purposes the violence is handled extremely well. It makes this go from adults only to what I would call a late teen and up book.
Jim’s interiors have been wonderfully done throughout this series and this final issue it seems he pulls out all the stops. Each panel on each page seems to be filled to capacity and it’s rather stunning to see the scope of it all. He really has managed to not only convey the size of the community underground but that sense that they are indeed a family. The flow is remarkable the overall creativity and imagination he brings to the book has been a joy to see. Of course i’d be remiss if I didn’t say how well Rachelle has done colouring it all adding that extra pop to the linework.
This may be the final battle with the current set of trolls but it’s far from the end of the story. So long as the pool remains and trolls, or people, can traverse worlds there will always be the opportunity for this to someday continue. I love the world and the people that Tom has created here and it’s one of those ideas that takes reality and adds more than a touch of the fantastic in ways that thrill and entertain.
Find out what happens during the final battle here. Then tell your friends about how much you enjoyed this series and why it’s important to support self-published books. Then maybe, just maybe we can talk Tom into bringing us more stories from this world.