“Bang!” #5 wraps a reality-bending pulp fest with an appropriately cheesy conclusion, and a portent of things to come. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Cover by Wilfredo Torres
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Wilfredo Torres
Colored by Bill Crabtree
Lettered by Nate Piekos Everything comes to a head as the psychotic secret agent Thomas Cord finally assembles his team for their first mission. A drug-addicted man of action, an eighty-year-old female detective, a crippled billionaire with an AI-powered car, and a psychotic super spy form an unlikely team-but they are the only team capable of saving the world from destruction at the hands of Goldmaze and a whacked-out sci-fi writer who may be the world’s only hope . . . or the architect of its destruction.
“Bang!” #5 puts a potentially temporary end cap on our pulp jaunt through the ages. “Bang!” sends up and celebrates lots of action and thriller tropes, and this final issue packs in an appropriate amount of action, intrigue and plot endings to satisfy long-time fans and newcomers alike.
In “Bang!” #5, Kindt and Torres pay homage to cliffhangers the likes of which only paperbacks, serials and comics can achieve: leave it all hanging, complete with an appropriate swell of spy-movie music echoing in our heads as we hit the final page. Where “Bang!” #5 suffers is in the focus on Cord and Paige’s previous romance. We did spend some time digging into the psyches of each character in their featured issues, but the choice here is an odd one given the ensemble cast. Issue #5’s somber tone comes not from its potentially world-ending metaplot and subsequent stakes, but from the torrid longing between the two. It’s an odd choice, and one that’s not bad in theory because it could net some good character development. However, the tight structure Kindt maintains throughout the previous four issues means we anticipate the montage team-up aspect of issue #5. Focusing on the intricacies of two characters’ relationship means a few more high spots are left off the page, and that’s a bit of a shame given the focus on action in previous issues.
Torres excels at character detail through cartooning, and draws two or three physical attributes from each character’s archetypal inspiration to feature in this series. In Issue #5 the dream team assaults the mysterious mountaintop castle, and the approach features specialized aircraft, tanks, white-capped peaks and ridiculously snow-suited baddies with assault rifles. Shaw is a particularly fun visual presence in this issue, and his remarked-upon barefoot hijinks are an excellent homage to the well-known John who always manages to beat the odds. Torres amps up the Archie-esque fun with an expressive panel featuring Shaw inhaling his beast mode drugs, and contrasts his Willis good looks with Queen’s poppy suit and frisbee A.I. companion. Cord and Page are a good contrast as well. Cord’s tall and in prime physical condition, and Paige’s puffy snowsuit, petite frame and walking stick are good focal points against the grey and white facility backdrop. Each character’s physique is a reminder of the “ships in the night” romance Kindt spotlights in this issue. Torres’s panels of Paige in action are a joyous reminder that deadly precision can come in small, brilliant packages, and she’s a good foil to the peak physiques of the other three heroes.
Crabtree favors bright pops of color against the industrial-toned backgrounds in the mountaintops. Queen’s purple and pink suit is a nice contrast, while Shaw’s stubble, bare arms and blue jeans add comical ruggedness to the action hero. As mentioned above, Crabtree picks a lovely purple for Paige’s puffy coat and pants that helps distinguish her from Cord and the snowsuited guards. There’s also a nice visual symmetry established with two characters in purples/pinks and two characters in white, as they’re paired for additional contrast. The reveal in the castle lab features some burnished silver machinery, muted stacks of books and some nice pops of green in both the contraptions and a certain mastermind’s cheery winter scarf. Crabtree also does fine work in the brief flashback scene, with deep shadows and low-lit flesh to establish intimacy and visceral body memory in the middle of a sterile and cold present.
Continued belowPiekos picks a readable, poppy font and bubbly balloons with an aggressive lack of padding that works very well for a comic like this. It could be tempting to amp up the lettering style to match old-school pulp stories, but Kindt and Torres craft an intricate and often frenetic plot that requires quick reading and maximum retention. Piekos wisely refrains from adding too many flourishes in the dialogue but goes for it in the sound effects, including the eponymous “Bang!” we see at the beginning of each issue. Sound effects are often a good place for some melodrama, and Piekos delivers here with trademark clarity and style.
Overall, “Bang!” is an enjoyable read, and issue #5 closes out the action with a solid conclusion. We spend too much time in the romantic melodrama between Paige and Cord, but the age difference between the two characters in their current incarnations creates a pinioned feeling and builds longing that suits the relationship. Kindt and Torres build a believably intricate and convoluted meta-plot that still manages to feel fresh in a comics landscape dominated by clever stories trying to live up to the legacy of folks like Morrison and Milligan – both of whom are still creating and building in the industry. Kindt isn’t afraid to go out on a limb with concepts but roots in genuine emotion and character building, and keeps the writing simple when it needs to move along. Torres delivers art with good detail to add both humor and emotion to each issue. Crabtree creates the pops we need to keep us centered with a creative palette, and Piekos keeps everything readable and stylish.
Final Verdict: 8/10 – “Bang!” #5 ends an enjoyable meta-mini with good homages to pulp archetypes and solid execution.
