Arc #2 wraps, and before we get a month-long hiatus from the adventures of our favorite fish-man, let’s see how the Salton Sea adventure wraps up.
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Sebastian FiumaraAfter a half-eaten body washes ashore, a small cult suspects the hungry killer may be Abe, who flees to the Salton Sea only to confront a dangerous Ogdru Hem larva.
David: So Brian, we are back with another edition of Mignolaversity before a small break, mercifully timed right when I am getting married! Huzzah! No less, this week we have Abe Sapien #5 from Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Max Fiumara, wrapping their quick two issue arc. Kick us off: what did you think of this issue?
Brian: Well, it did exactly what I hoped it would do – it surprised me. When the issue starts with Barry’s body, everyone becomes a suspect. However, the way it plays out is far different and more interesting than you might assume right off. I really, really dug it.
So, let’s start at the beginning – when Barry wound up dead, who did you think killed him?
David: Exactly who did kill him, actually. That much kind of stood out to me from the start, so it was less a “whodunit?” for me as much as it was a “what’s going on here?” What about you?
And I have to say, as much as I appreciate the mass hysteria developing as well as the creation of a miniature religion, I thought overall this was kind of a disappointing close after a really strong first issue. This comic isn’t bad – it’s well done overall, with great atmosphere and art – but I don’t feel very invested in what’s happening. It all feels very superficial to me, as well as not very revelatory besides maybe the ending with Vaughn. Am I off my rocker?
Brian: This is a rare time that we disagree, David. I thought that this issue was very consistent with what the book has been to this point – a travelogue through the weird shit that is going on in the world. So far we’ve seen how it affects the transient, people of faith, small town folks, and now, crazy monster worshippers. This issue had a lot of moments of Abe figuring out where he stands in this brave new world, as well as some interesting stuff with Vaughn. Disappointing isn’t a word I’d use for this issue.
David: Well, it is for me. I don’t know. It’s a perfectly fine issue and I really love Abe as a character – as you know – but even if the intent for the story is to be a travelogue in this hellish Earth, it’s still not fully connecting with me. I find myself left cold by it. It’s a well crafted piece of comic book storytelling that ultimately I didn’t feel much for.
There were even some parts that stood out as particularly poor storytelling too. I’m not sure if this is on John or Max, but the moment where Abe goes to find answers underwater and blows by all of the people trying to talk to him just felt so sudden and jarring. Maybe it’s my reading of it, but that moment completely took me out of the flow of the story, and I feel like there had to be a way to make that feel more naturalistic.
That said, overall, Max was superb. I love how expressive his characters are, especially Judy who is having a crisis of faith, identity and of her relationship. You can see the torment and heartache she is going through on the page, and it helps elevate the material. What did you think of Max’s work in this issue?
Brian: Fiumara’s work continues to impress. The Salton Sea is a bit of an unusual location in the real, non-comics world, and Fiumara captures the weirdness of the place and adds a healthy sense of dread. His people seem slightly unhinged which, again, makes sense given the world that they are living in. My biggest beef with his work on this issue comes from the cover image, which features an Abe that seems like it can’t decide if it wants to be abstract or detailed, and so just looks sort of like a fat fish.
Continued belowI want to go back to the underwater scene you referenced – this scene was maybe my favorite, visually, of the issue, but was a bit hard to follow. In fact, I’ve read and re-read it four or five times, and still don’t know exactly what is going on there. There is a fine line between being mysterious and being poorly constructed and, while I tend to give these books a lot of credit, I have to agree that this isn’t great storytelling.
David: Well, I do want to note I was talking about the scene before he got in the water. When he ran towards the water, bowling through the people on the beach. That said, yeah, the underwater scene was a bit abstract for a story designed, as you said as a travelogue. It was an attractive section that flowed well, but if he’s on a journey of discovery, I’m not really quite sure what we discovered there.
Let’s talk about the ending with Vaughn and Gustav Strobl. What’s your take on that?
Brian: I saw that scene as a “oh shit, these people are going to think I killed the dude – I’ve got to find the real killer!” How very O.J. of him!
As for the ending with Strobl and Vaughn, I thought it did a nice job of teasing some interesting places the book can go. In one sense, Strobl seems to be a fun villain to throw in the mix – especially one who can promise things like life restoration. On the other hand, Vaughn seems too smart of a guy to just blindly follow someone promising great things to him. That said, he sure spilled the beans pretty quickly – what do you think?
David: Well, for one, Vaughn has limited options. Death by hole in chest or mayyyybe live if he does what this villainy guy in a carriage has to say. Between the two, the latter option is certainly more appealing. I’m really interested in where that’s going, and I am eager for the two storylines to potential meet as it might add some real dramatic tension to the story.
Anything else to add before we get to the grading Brian?
Brian: Not particularly. We usually are within decimal points of each other grade wise, so I’m interested to see how this one shakes out.
I give this a 7.5 – a solid story with a few small issues.
David: I’ll give it a 6.5. It in a lot of ways was well crafted, but I just didn’t really connect with it, plus I had a few storytelling issues. Next month, we’re back to Seb and Scott!
Final Verdict: 7.0 – Buy
