With its twelfth issue, “Days of Hate” comes to a quiet, but beautiful conclusion. Read on to hear our thoughts, but be warned, as there will be some spoilers for both this issue, and the series as a whole.
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Danijel Zezelj
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar
Where are we now?
“Days of Hate” has been a challenging series to read. It has never been easy with answers, there have been points where the plot has felt almost annoyingly difficult to parse. But, even when the specifics of the plot fell by the wayside, “Days of Hate” has consistently been able to evoke the very particular feeling of this current political moment. It’s a feeling that I, and I know many others, have struggled with. A sense of hopelessness. An almost numbness to the constant stream of terrible news that makes it feel like it might just be impossible to fight back.
This series has asked a number of challenging questions about resistance, apathy, and political violence. Going far deeper than the facile, terrorist and freedom fighter dichotomy that often accompanies discussions of political violence. “Days of Hate” has been interested in exploring both when violence against a regime is justified and shining a light on government sanctioned violence that often gets overlooked when discussing political resistance. And while those sound like big, heady ideas, the series has also managed to constantly stayed focused on its characters.
“Days of Hate” #12 continues that trend of relatable humanity by turning its focus away from the main conflict of the series to instead focus on Arvid. Arvid, who for most of the series has seemed along for the ride, never the focus of the story, but vitally important. In this issue, we get an epilogue, of Arvid reuniting with his young son, and talking with the woman hiding him. I mentioned earlier that one of the problems with “Days of Hate” has been an obfuscated plot. However, with this final issue, those concerns drop away. This is a small, intimate issue, with Arvid reuniting with his son, and talking with the woman hiding him about where he plans to go next.
The first half of this issue is silent. The art by Danijel Zezelj, is hauntingly beautiful. Zezelj’s line are is made up of heavy inks, masking characters and scenes in shadow. The colors, from Jordie Bellaire, give the entire issue an air brushed feeling. Like each panel is something someone tagged on a street sign. The silent sequence at the beginning of this issue is a good showcase of how powerful Zezelj’s art is at evoking mood.
Where Zelelj really shines, though, are the sequences where two characters are interacting. The layout he uses on each page stop you from ever feeling entirely comfortable. Aside from pages that use a nine-panel grid, the layouts rarely fit together symmetrically. It creates a tension, never letting a reader become comfortable in the layouts. Which is part of what the art team does in this issue so wonderfully. Even though this is a relatively quiet issue, even though there are moments of joy and peace, nothing is ever, really safe.
“Because despite everything, I can’t stop believing a better world is possible.”
The quote above comes from the final conversation of this issue and the series as a whole. It is a good summation of everything that “Days of Hate” has achieved over the course of its 12 issues. The previous issue included one of the most direct condemnations of white supremacists I have ever read in a comic. This final issue, though, offers something even more powerful. “Days of Hate” has spent a lot of time grappling with hopelessness, fighting back against what seems to be a lost cause. What “Days of Hate” #12 leaves the reader with is hope.
“Days of Hate” has, for me, perfectly captured the feeling of the current moment. The terror, the disbelief, the all out, all-encompassing horribleness of the people who are in charge of the country. But even more than that, it has capture how exhausting our world has become. The constant stream of insanity, the seemingly endless well of nightmarishly cruel policies can leave a person feeling numb. “Days of Hate” is one of the few pieces of media that has accurately captured that feeling. Because it is able to capture that, turning to hope at the end is an even more powerful message. Even though the world is, and always has been, shit, that doesn’t mean that it can’t change and grow and be better going forward. Personally, that’s something I needed to hear, and in “Days of Hate” #12, it hits that mark perfectly.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – “Days of Hate” #12 finds hope in the darkness, giving readers a reason to keep fighting, and looks fantastic doing it.
