We got our first encounter with The Guide last issue. I was intrigued with her presence and couldn’t really determine who she was. But she definitely has some sort of control over Poe. Luckily he got out of the City though and made in back to the Maze. No doubt this Guide will bring more trouble for Poe and the other mice. So we start this issue with Poe entering back into his home. He begins to tell his father of the story, so the panels are switching from the City to the Maze. It is really cool how Jorge Corona does this, but we should give credit to Jen Hickman. The lights/shades of each place bring each part of this place to life. It is cool to see Poe switch from the City, with its light and clean garments to the Maze with its darkness and shabby clothes. Although Corona has a way of making both look bad. This may be the people, because the City people look so snobbing or it may be the high buildings in both areas, making them both feel like a maze. Either way, it is a great compare and contrast that we see throughout this issue bouncing from Poe to Bianca.
With being the issue before the last of this amazing mini-series, there is some serious rising action building up. This is the most intense issue we have read. Every story is coming to the forefront. We find out that Poe’s father knows about The Guide, so this will most likely hurt Poe tremendously. Then Bianca’s family is upset over her escaping from the City, although they are so delusional, that her mother thinks Poe kidnapped her. Bianca just wants to protect Poe, so now she must find a way to get out once again. There are some other little stories going around, but by far the most compelling is the mystery man with the red scarf.
Yeah there are a lot of stories going on in here, which again makes Feathers such a great all-ages book. Corona throws everything he has at his readers. And without a summary at the beginning or a character guide, we still know exactly what is going on. All this credit goes to him. I think core of the story stays the same. So even though we have all these stories, we keep track of everything because the goal is the same; Poe trying to find out who he is.
Anyway, the red scarf dude is flat out creepy. I mean he sings lullabies putting kids into a trance and then steals them from the streets. We don’t know what he is doing with all the mice from the Maze, but my guess is that he is trying to get Poe’s attention. Or maybe that he is experimenting on them. That could be why Poe turned out the way he did. The comic ends with this man, and it isn’t exactly what I predicted, so Poe is going to have to make a huge decision.
It seems like every character is having to push themselves beyond their limit. Corona makes each one of his characters choose the right path on his/her own. From Bianca to Poe’s father, they all have to choose. I can’t wait to see what each one does and if it all works out for them. I looked forward to the conclusion of Feathers next month and know that we will finally get to the end of this maze.
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Feathers #5 Writer/Artist: Jorge Corona Colorist: Jen Hickman Publisher: Archaia/BOOM! Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital
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