I almost don’t know where to start with this headbender of a series from Black Mask. “Last Born” hinges on a big, apocalyptic premise – one that situates a group of people from different periods of history at the end of time. This penultimate issue takes them closer to a final showdown with the Viral Man, the mysterious being that got them into this mess; but it also manages to deliver a solid emotional punch.
Written by Patrick Meaney
Illustrated by Eric ZawadzkiJulia and her companions are lost in a dimensional crossroads between the dawn of humanity and the end of time. After a horrific attack leaves the group paralyzed, James discovers the horrible trauma in Eden’s past and the secret origin of The Viral Man, setting the stage for an epic confrontation. The cosmological thrill-ride from the director of Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods continues.
This chapter focuses on Eden, a Stone Age girl whose first encounter with the Viral Man left her imprisoned for ten years. She doesn’t talk much, so the team sort of dances around her for the duration, gradually revealing facets of her backstory.
That is, except for our protagonist Julia, who doesn’t so much dance around her as get into a direct physical confrontation with her. The more we learn about Eden and about the vast cruelty of the Viral Man, the more this confrontation makes sense; Julia and Eden have to settle their differences and confirm their vital similarities before fighting the big fight.
Apart from a fondness for comma splices, Meaney’s writing is admirably tight. Despite the grand setting and huge stakes, nothing feels overstated. Ford’s description of the Viral Man – “a thousand voices all at once, echoing through a world he owned” – strikes the right cataclysmic tone without overdoing it, and the Viral Man himself is a being of few words.
So far as exposition goes, the goods are spread thin; there are no long, narrative boxes. Most of what we need to know is delivered through dialogue, and (for the most part) in small doses. It’s Ford, who found Eden in the first place, who gives us the surface-level details of what happened to her; but there’s so much more there, implicit in Julia and Eden’s confrontation and explicit in Eden’s flashback. Structurally, the way these three angles into Eden’s story trade off and merge keeps the issue running along smoothly.
Oddly enough, there isn’t much of an attempt to differentiate the characters’ voices, despite their hailing from time periods as various as the 20th century, the distant future, and (I think) the Middle Ages. Somehow, though, I find this approach refreshing. Having to decipher different ways of speaking would be another screen between us and this big story, which already requires a fair amount of thought and attention to grasp.
All the while, Zawadzki’s work is clean and approachable, with crisp detail work. But there are moments that benefit from a second look, especially when it comes to the mostly-silent Eden. Zawadzki balances her ferociousness with something else, lending her shades of complexity without veering into the realm of the sentimental.
The design of the Viral Man himself is also interesting. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where and when this guy comes from based on his costume and appearance – if he does indeed come from somewhere – and more than anything he comes across as stony and huge, a massive, terrifying monument.
The characters portrayals aren’t all equally successful; sometimes it feels like they’re over-rendered, a few extra lines obscuring a good look at their faces. Generally speaking, though, Zawadzki’s work hits the right notes, emphasizing the emotional aspects of this huge story.
All through, the colouring work is impressive, accentuating the unusual textures of the environment at every turn. The greys of the ragged wasteland give way to fuchsia during a cosmic double page spread, and the red of the apocalyptic sky is a nice touch. It’s not a broad palette, and the issue is all the more aesthetically coherent for it.
Penultimate issues of four-part miniseries don’t often make great reads on their own; they serve to get us someplace, and in short order. But the emotional resonance of this one – that, and its structural finesse – keep it memorable, making this apocalyptic tale feel like something special. We won’t be sure of that, of course, until the conclusion; but with a lead-up this compelling, “Last Born” #4 is going to be a must-read.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
