This action-packed miniseries from Diggle and Jock has enjoyed a pretty solid run, unraveling the consequences the come along with stumbling upon a cell phone that has pictures of a dead guy on it – and it turns out there are many. Now that we’re at the final issue, things take a turn for the really, really, grim, and “noir” seems about as appropriate a word as any to describe the heavy atmosphere and guilty consciences that distinguish this tale.
Written by Andy Diggle
Illustrated by JockMINISERIES CONCLUSION!
It all ends here as the awful truth behind a multi-million dollar conspiracy is revealed, with deadly consequences. If young Jake is to survive, what kind of man must he become? And is it worth the price?
Having discovered a secret work camp which enslaves people who are thought to be dead, Jake and Callie know way too much, and are inextricably drawn into a conspiracy that, you guessed it, goes straight to the top – or at least a good deal closer to the top than anybody figured. And while most of the big plot reveals came about last issue, with the events of this issue unraveling the consequences of those discoveries, there are a couple of surprises in store here as Jake and Callie attempt to extricate themselves from a complicated and desperate situation.
Conspiracy-intrigue can be hard to pull off, particularly once the larger reveals are out of the way, but Diggle keeps this issue rolling along beautifully, demonstrating the means by which Jake and Callie are kept within their manipulators’ grasp and upping the stakes with plenty of jarring deaths. Meanwhile, Jake and Callie’s trust in each other and cooperation – such as it is – has an interesting platonic character, which is a relief, because I think we’ve all read enough action stories with Awkwardly Introduced Romances. A vaguely antagonistic but ultimately dependable relationship rings much truer in a story this violent, and puts a decidedly human face on the proceedings. The only vestiges of hope that come across in the story also stem from the cooperation of these two characters – not so much because of anything they do to change things, but because they wind up sharing a common experience that they can potentially deal with together later on, and that’s a pretty powerful idea as well.
The dialogue, which has been strong up to this point, does have moments where it’s a bit too on-the-nose, and this works against the general feeling of realism that’s so important to a thriller operating in this vein. This may be the effect of compression, which I mentioned in my review of the second issue, and while it doesn’t necessarily disrupt the flow of this chapter, it does make the details of the conspiracy more difficult to absorb, because delivered so rapidly.
Jock’s black and white art, the strongest element of the book from the beginning, has kept pretty consistent since then, and has its fair share of great moments over the course of the issue. The pouring rain that punctuates one of the action scenes is particularly accomplished, busy with ink spatters that dirty up the panels and lend even more dynamism to the events. The gore levels are also pushed further in this issue than they have been yet, and there’s at least one splash page that’s sure to stay with you a while.
Jake and Callie’s expressions are hit-and-miss, sometimes too subtle and sometimes over-the-top, but their interactions toward the end of the issue are beautifully understated, and really help to underscore the general feeling of culpability and unease, as well as that tiny bit of hope that I mentioned before.
This definitely isn’t a gleeful book, but now that it’s reached its final chapter, it’s rounded out into the sort of tale that’s been cropping up a lot these past few years. That’s not a point against it, either: I just mean to say that it belongs to the group of books that go about metaphorizing what it’s like to be young and offered as few chances to succeed as possible, and how disheartening and corrupting an experience that can be. The last page of this issue may hit that note a little hard, but it’s this bit of thematic/political depth that makes the story feel weightier now than it did during the first three issues, and which is liable to make a story that was solid in serial even better collected. And so, while it’s been a bit inconsistent, “Snapshot” drives its point home – and does so in high style.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Browse the trade.
