Perhaps the most shocking thing about “Black Hammer: Age of Doom” #4 is that it delivers on what the solicit teases as writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston reveal certain aspects that further and clarify the mystery of the Farm. With that in mind, this review will be composed in two parts. In the first part (immediately following the solicit) I will endeavor to analyze this issue without giving away the game too much. In the second half (below the Kra-Koom panel) I will look at things in brief spoiler filled detail. Consider this your general SPOILER WARNING!
If you are looking at this review for if you should or should not read this series, “Black Hammer” is among the best composed comics put out in a given month and “Age of Doom” #4 is no different. So, yeah, go read “Black Hammer.”
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Dean Ormston
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Todd Klein
The Eisner Award-winning superhero saga returns with lots of revelations!
All is revealed when Lucy makes her way back to the farm from Dreamland, confronting the mastermind of their current situation. The revelations here will alter the fate of the Black Hammer family forever!
In this era of Peak storytelling, it matters more when a given narrative does something not what it does. Placing the argument about the number of original stories to the side, this maxim represents an understanding that audiences have become well versed in the rhythms of storytelling. Which means the best way to shock them is too disrupt this assumed rhythm. When LOST opened the hatch, it was the climax of a seasons worth of television and left audiences hanging as they stared up at the confused faces of Jack and Locke. Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston blow their hatch in “Black Hammer: Age of Doom” #4. It isn’t the finale to an arc, the first trade ‘Age of Doom – Part One’ will collect the first five issues of the series; taking the previous series into account it’s only the 17th (or 18th depending on how you count the annual) overall which again eschews the traditional hype cycle around anniversary issues. Putting the reveal here is an effective jolt for how these stories normally go.
For all the big reveals, “Age of Doom” #4 carries itself like another typical issue of “Black Hammer.” Abe and Barbie sit on the porch and half heartedly commiserate together over beer about the sudden upward trajectory their love lives have taken. Madame Dragonfly hangs out in her hut. The Colonel floats around being weird. Gail sulks alone. Formally the biggest departure is the rare use of a double page spread, more on that later. This tonal normalcy is interesting to consider against the reveals that happen over the course of the issue and carry with them a double meaning in hindsight.
Dean Ormston’s ability to draw conversational sequences and make them visually interesting, in a way that enhances the dialog and storytelling, is the secret sauce that ties “Black Hammer” together. For all the loving superhero pastiche that runs through everything, it’s these 3-5 page sequences where the character of the series comes through. Ormston gets to flex this issue as Abe and Tammy pillow talk. Ormston uses perspective and paneling to represent their closeness, or lack thereof, as Tammy chastises Abe’s reticence towards honesty with her. Their sequence begins normal enough, the couple is as close as they ever were. Ormston consistently pictures the two in the same panel, only pulling out and emphasizing Tammy as she talks about how odd her ex-husband’s been acting and that look Abe gets as he emotionally recoils from her. Once Abe finally allows himself to open up about the peculiarities of his family, Ormston draws them in an implied heart shape. Their visual union is eventually cleaved in two by panel gutter as Abe drops the ‘S’ word on his lover. Her solo panel is filled with confused silence. The moment was, however, honest and Ormston returns to picturing the two together in the same panel, as a nude Abe disappears into the closet coming out on the next page. Ormston uses paneling to twist his convention of showing them together as Abe comes out of the closet in his super suit to devastating effect. Ormston superimposes a partial headshot of Tammy bursting into laughter, her lips are emphasized the most, at the sight of Abe. In the moment it reads as a devastating rebuke to Abe’s honesty. It isn’t totally, but it is a well crafted send off to the sequence as the issue investigates other cast members.
Continued belowLemire and Ormston make great use of the double page spread, it ties this issues plot threads together and sends them together towards their finale. It ironically uses the size of two pages to remind the reader how claustrophobic the Farm can feel to the heroes as it ties together everyone but Colonel Weird and Madame Dragonfly(both off in her hut). The use of perspective is somewhat Hitch-esque as it twists over the two pages. At one end of the page, the barn roof is flying towards the reader, with some nice foreshortening, that really demonstrates the sense of power and anger Gail is experiencing as she proclaims intent to murder. The other half of the page stands in contrast to that ferocious energy as the calm specks of Abe and Barbie react only with a “Gah!” Which I couldn’t help but read in the voice of Hank Hill. It captures the tone of “Black Hammer” in a single image.
Even without the reveal, “Age of Doom” #4 is an exceptional comic, and one that has me hopeful and curious to see what comes next. While this is by no means a good place to jump in, it has all the qualities that make “Black Hammer” such an engaging read.
Now to get into spoiler territory below the image.
If everything in “Black Hammer” is a remix, it’s fitting that the Farm is a Matrix. Why Abe, Barbie, and Gail where put in there by Madame Dragonfly and Colonel Weird has yet to be revealed, but it does point towards a surprising touchstone for this eclectic series: “Heroes Reborn.”
The reveal that the Farm was a simulation also gives some extra meaning to Abe and Barbie’s conversation, as Barbie chides Abe for trying to think himself out of this new found happiness. They’re superheroes, of course they can never be happy in reality.
It will be interesting to see how the larger readership reacts to this dreamlike scenario. Personally, I’m a fan of dream stories and like time travel ones serve as a ground for phantastical character introspection. What matters is how the characters react to their experience on the Farm, not if it was or wasn’t in “reality.”
Final Verdict: – 9.0 Shocking reveals on top of several supremely well executed sequences puts “Black Hammer: Age of Doom” #4 over the top in terms of quality.
