It’s been a long road to this finale. Through wormholes, cat-tank battles, deeply unsettling, nearly naked wizard walls, and a real world wait of nearly eight years. The series that marks Zdarsky earliest solo writing venture and is, possibly, his most off-beat has now reached its end. Let’s see how it handles bringing it all home, if it can do that at all.
Cover by Kagan McLeodWritten by Chip Zdarsky
Illustrated and colored by Kagan McLeod
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-ElhaouThe grand oversized finale from CHIP “BATMAN” ZDARSKY and KAGAN “SHE-HULK” McLEOD! Years ago, Keith Kanga started a journey that took him to the fantastic world of Kaptara, but after a startling war and lost love, can he move on?
“Universal Truths,” the subtitle given to the final six issues of “Kaptara” after its long hiatus, is a fascinating read when placed next to its original five issue run. One can see Zdarsky’s growth as a writer and his ability to deftly weave pathos into the most patently absurd concepts. These aspects were always there, and in fact are always present in his work, but now they don’t have to be snuck in, to be hidden within the pages of “that weird Sex Criminals guy’s weird, funky, funny sci-fi book.”
McLeod’s growth is also present, with a greater acuity for color and stronger expressions on his foreground characters. There’s a lot to love – every leap a character makes, buns out, pirouetting across the panel, for one thing. The stranger the creature or situation, the more McLeod shines, though he’s no slouch when it comes to dramatics. I really liked the way he renders the opening scenes. It’s moody and a wonderful contrast to the romance fantasy pulp of Kaptara.
I have to be honest though. I struggled with McLeod’s art more than I would have liked. While the consistency of foreground characters has improved, anytime they fall into the background their faces become mush. Environments are also inconsistent, sometimes fully fleshed out, other times flat or purely colors when some grounding details would have helped with the geography of a fight.
Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering is also a distraction through much of the issue. It is varied, well-thought out, and dynamic to be sure. It has personality in spades, something that compliments the overall frenetic and wacky world of Kaptara. It is good lettering, I just think it’s too much. Zdarsky’s original lettering was serviceable but the understated nature of it, along with his softer mixed-case lettering, offered a contrast to the art’s big colors and lithe muscles as well as the gargantuan ejaculations of the dialog. Without it, all that’s left is sensory overload.
Issue six is the conclusion to the series, both mini and maxi, that we needed. It is the denouement to the grander adventure – think “Y: The Last Man” #60 – and the final battle. The dangling threads are all wrapped up and Keith finally makes it home. What’s more, the grander story, while truncated, is satisfying in its resolution, as most of it was handled in previous issues, letting this be the emotional conclusion more than anything else.
At first, I wasn’t sure this ending was the right move. For one, it’s all pretty pat, though I think it was unavoidable given the motifs of the story and the direction “Universal Truths” was taken. For another, it’s kind of unoriginal? It feels wrong for a series as out there as “Kaptara” to have a final issue so rote in the broad strokes. Finally, I struggled with how earnest it is. “Kaptara’s” silliness was always one of its great strengths. Losing it in favor of pure, earnest sentimentality is hard to take.
The more I sat with it though, the more I found it a fitting end for the series. There aren’t too many different ways for a portal fantasy to end and a well-done “life after exhilarating adventures” is what one would hope for, particularly when we’re not in “gritty deconstruction mode.” I also quite liked how “Universal Truths” #6 builds tension by inter-cutting the final battle with future Keith, now famous on Earth, and the bait-and-switch it pulls.
Continued belowMoreover, none of the choices made in issue #6, or the rest of the mini for that matter, are at odds with the themes and ideas of the series itself. Nor is the silliness actually gone! It’s simply overshadowed by “Universal Truth” #6’s focus on Keith and Manton as the emotional core. To do this is to bring closure to Keith’s arc and to allow the series to actually conclude instead of hanging in limbo for all eternity.
“Universal Truths” #6 is not a disappointing issue, but I am disappointed to know that this is the for-real end of “Kaptara.” I love the original five issues. I read them day and date as they came out, hoping to spend 30, 40, 50 issues with these funky, funny, freaky Kaptarans. I held out hope, year in and year out, that it would return one day, knowing that, much like “Starlord: Grounded,” sales simply weren’t there to make it viable.
In reaching the ending they did, it becomes clear this was a compromise between ambition of years past and the realities of the present. We were never going to fully earn a truly earnest, sentimental finale; there was simply too much unexplored and too little space to explore it in. Characters had to be left underdeveloped and avenues of exploration had to be blocked off. Zdarsky & McLeod had to choose and they chose to dial in on the arcs they could resolve and the journey they could take us on in the process.
It was a compromise. But oh what a compromise it was.
Final Score: 7.8. It is not Zdarsky’s strongest work, but it is one close to my heart. I am sad “Kaptara” is over. I am glad it ended well.