Psychosis? Anxiety? Crippling self-doubt and depression? They’re superheroes, Jim, but not as we know them. As things start to unravel for our heroes the Illuminatrix casts some light on her shadowy plans.
Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Jim TerryAs the Illuminatrix does her best to convince Karl Volf to join the Jubilant, Arcanika and Concerned Citizen battle a twisted version of Arcanika, and Crowlita realizes that, despite hating everyone, she may be humanity’s only hope against a planet-devouring threat!
Seeley and Terry’s less-than-super-heroes are only four issues in and they’ve already thoroughly been put through the ringer. Last issue saw Concerned Citizen caught in a battle with Arcanika’s violent other half and Crowlita overdosing on stolen pills to numb the voices in her head. “Sundowners” is a fast-paced comic that attempts to deal with some very heavy issues and in other hands it could easily cross the line into melodrama or even come across as tasteless. But the creative team behind this book really care about their charges, and it shows. This latest issue slows the pace a little to give the universe they’ve created a chance to grow, change, and hurtle headlong into the unreality that has been gnawing at its edges since the first issue.
Jumping right back into the action that we left at the end of last issue, Concerned Citizen finds he’s got a heated battle on his hands with Brandon Westphal, Arcanika’s polar opposite in terms of her supposed power-set. CC has been portrayed mainly as a confused but sympathetic character so far – the past few issues displaying his mental weakness in numerous situations – but Seeley executes the rebuilding of this character’s mental strength through focused violence with great skill. CC’s need for justice and his compassion could well be the undoing of him but, when coupled with his great physical strength and given a cause, Seeley shows that the ex-boxer is still capable of pulling himself together to work towards a goal.
Terry’s art during the fight is beautifully understated. He captures the two men’s differing ideologies concisely through their stances and clothes, CC upright and well drilled, Westphal crouched and brawling, and keeps the scenery minimal, dropping backgrounds out altogether at critical moments to draw the reader’s eye exactly where he wants it.
Both in this fight and throughout the issue the art is very focused on close-ups of faces, Terry capitalizing on his ability to capture the human element of a superhero. The vulnerability and emotion comes across well and the line-work and emphatic shadowing add to the feeling of unreality, giving the issue a real edge of psychological horror.
The impact of these super-close-up panels to build suspense is most evident in the initial scene when Dr. ‘Shreds’ stumbles across the body of Crowlita and finds himself in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. While Seeley’s narrative boxes do a good job of expanding on the consequences of ‘Shreds’ possible decisions, it’s Terry’s deft representation of inner conflict in facial expressions that builds the immediate tension.
Throughout this series so far, Seeley’s most impressive scripting element has always been the capturing of different voices and this issue shows that he’s not letting up on that end. From Westphal’s sermonistic patter to CC’s mix of blue-collar slang and purposefully stiff procedural speech to the consciously callous inner monologue of Dr. ‘Shreds’, Seeley manages to contrast the dialogue so much that you can all but hear it through the pages.
The voice-over in this issue, coupled with the classical visuals that look more like great illustrations from a nineties comic, remind me heavily of the spirit of comics past, more psychologically invasive and focused. The omniscient voiceover allows for a quick understanding of the issues at hand for each character. For an ensemble cast like this, some explanation might be necessary but, at times, it does feel a little expositional. Still, for the most part the scripting is tight enough that it doesn’t feel like a bland information dump, but rather more like intriguing first as third person narration.
That being said, while this issue sounds even more introverted than its predecessors, it does also open us up for a better look at the ‘powered’ elements of the story. Arcanika goes toe to toe with her home intruder while juiced up on a couple of the deadly sins and the result is a far more convincing, and thoroughly disturbing, beating than someone of her size should be able to dole out. While on the other side of the coin we get our first full conversation with The Illuminatrix and the results are deliciously confusing.
Continued belowRather than your standard villainous monologue about world domination, the Illuminatrix lays out plans that seem almost too appetizing. Her promise of a unified system of people smells a little like she’s been drinking too much Kool-Aid, but as the insidious temptation for a group of heroes who’s powers and idiosyncrasies have combined to leave them feeling misunderstood and isolated, it’s a perfectly concocted opponent. Even the name of her little cabal, ‘The Jubilant’, feels like a splinter cell of one of the shadowy communes-cum-suicide cults from the 60’s and 70’s counter-culture to the point of self-destruction. This kind of fanatical devotion is something that we’ve seen time and time again in previous villains, so it does come off as a little straight and maybe overdone, but Seeley is able to rework this theme, keeping it fresh and interesting. While we’re still learning about them, I’ll definitely hold fire on calling it any kind of rehashing.
And Seeley’s scripting of the Illuminatrix is a work of fantastically fluid fiction. She sounds so sure of herself that you can feel the undercurrent of conviction persuading Karl as he stands, isolated as he is, from our rag-tag band of heroes. This is definitely a comic book that revels in the power of words, the ability of the mind to overcome itself through its words or the words of others. The transformative powers of words runs on two levels: in the bombastic, speechifying of his characters to convince others; and in the smaller, repeated way his characters use them to convince themselves. On both sides, words are being used in an attempt to change someone’s personal reality.
And in terms of rendering reality, Terry does a beautifully eerie job of keeping this issue on the wrong side of realism. The constant dutch-angle panels that keep our characters visually off balance has the same effect on the narrative, forcing the reader to adjust as they read. But the artistic triumph of this issue comes in the final pages, in a flurry of scenes that are mesmerising and vicious in equal measure. The colours feel like Francesco Francavilla’s horror work, full of colours that bristle with danger and mystery.
Overall the issue does a great job of expanding the universe and the characters involved, all the while raising the stakes for these hapless heroes.
Final verdict: 7.5 – This issue proves that building a new comic-book from the ground up doesn’t have to be boring. Spooky and psychological, the series is definitely worth a read.
