Well Liberator comes to a close with this issue and like I said in my “Pull List” feature, I’m a bit sad to see this one go. At the beginning I had no idea how it was going to continue past the first issue, but it did and surprised me along the way. I’ve said since the beginning that stories like this are made for the comic medium. There’s no production budget to worry about and so you’re given this cinematic story without interference. I suspected since the second issue that this was and wasn’t Guerrero’s story. Sure we follow him in the beginning, but it’s confirmed in this issue that it’s more of Jeanette’s encounter with him. Jeanette let’s Guerrero know about Randy and while I’m not going to spoil it for you, it’s pretty damn interesting. It’s a nice twist to the story even if nothing big comes from it. It shakes things up enough that Jeanette and Guerrero switch up their plans for the fur farm so that they have more time to act. The story follows them through their day-to-day lives as they’re waiting for the big night and we discover that Jeanette might have a boyfriend which really rules out Guerrero’s chances with her, but he doesn’t know that and it doesn’t really matter.
The two meet up that night and gear up. Jeanette brings up Guerrero’s mom for some reason and he becomes more and more upset at her mention, but it’s clear that he’s on his own with only Jeanette to back him up. Jeanette shows concern for him, but it’s clear that he’s battling a lot of demons. She tells him that they’re parting ways after this job which doesn’t help with his temper when they arrive at the farm.
This story does not end the way you think it will. There’s an element that’s been hiding before us and when it’s revealed things make a bit more sense. I didn’t like the falling out between Jeanette and Guerrero, but that’s okay. Not every relationship has a happy ending and while I think Guerrero checked out of the story misunderstood by Jeanette, it leaves him with a place to go with his personality. I also really appreciate the way that writer Matt Miner handled elements of this story. So often a comic book that has realistic story elements can’t wait to shout them to the world and highlight the mature situation, but Miner chose a different route. You’ll either get it or you won’t and it doesn’t hurt the story either way which I think is a true testament of the storytelling for the series.
With this being the last issue of the series, it’s not as if the quality suddenly dropped on the art. It’s been very consistent throughout the series and that doesn’t change here. There are new challenges for Aranda to illustrate and he does a great job of it. What has impressed me from the very first issue all the way to the end, is the coloring. I love the stylistic choices made by Pereyra as it made the book catch your eye more. For instance the moon in this issue has this great pixelated look coming off it making it look realistic and fake at the same time. It’s strange, but it works really well with the story and gives the book an artistic flair that a lot of comics lack in general.
I really dug this series and if there was a follow-up I would definitely check it out. If this is the first you’ve heard of it then you’re actually kind of lucky because you can track down the back issues and read the series from beginning to end or hopefully they’ll be producing a trade paperback for the series that people can pick up. Overall I think that this was a comic with a message, but also a story to tell and it was told very well.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Matt Miner Artist: Javier Sanchez Aranda Publisher: Black Mask Studios Price: $3.50 Release Date: 10/16/13