The thing that keeps me coming back to 12-Gauge Comics is the action. As a company they have the genre down and pump out series after series full of great comic book action. I’m not quite sure what the delay was on this series, but I’ve been eagerly waiting for its return/conclusion. It did not disappoint, so sit back and get ready for some end of the world biblical action. In the last issue, Zachary and Jordan found themselves holed up in the morgue aka the portal leading out of hell. They also met the anti-Christ who set up this elaborate trap for them in the first place so he could win Zachary over to his side. He tells Zachary that he’s just like him (an anti-Christ) and together they could fix the world by essentially taking all free will away. Jordan continues to tell Zachary not to listen as she tries to battle the anti-Christ which leads to him throwing her through walls… that’s right multiple walls. It’s important to note that unlike most comic books, Jordan doesn’t sit up and spout a funny one-liner; instead she begins to bleed to death in front of Zachary as he uses his powers to get to her. Again the anti-Christ begins to temp Zachary, saying that together they can heal her and fix the world. If you don’t see where this is going, then you definitely should buy the book and if you do see where it’s going, you’re going to want to read it for yourself anyways.
What really got me about this series was the love story or pre-love story loosely threaded throughout. It was definitely amplified in the previous issue with several cute moments, but in this issue it gets very real. Now, the story ends before it begins, but that’s why it works so well within the setting.
The writing was very good and while the ending isn’t mind-blowing, it is a great fit for the rest of the series and I found it to be very rewarding and entertaining. This was a very different twist on the end of days, book of revelations storyline and I really liked it. It has “major motion picture” written all over it, but it’s still a great comic book.
The art work has been solid throughout the entire series and it continues to remind me of the grittiness of styles that appear at Avatar Press or even Prophet from Image. The action sequences are spot on and easy to follow which is always important with an action story. The art has a realistic quality to it that makes the story all the more plausible. Even the final battle, while grand, still maintains this very realistic nature to it.
At this point if you’ve missed the series you might be better off picking it up when it becomes a trade, but if you’re able to grab all the issues I would do it (you can get all of them on 12-Gauge’s website). I read the third and fourth issue back to back and it made for a stronger read. Not only does this issue have great writing and art, but the actual plot has a huge payoff and that’s was definitely something that’s been up in the air since the first issue. It didn’t disappoint and I would definitely pick up a second volume if they made one.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Peter Calloway Artist: Daniel Hillyard Publisher: 12-Gauge Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 5/15/13 Website!