It’s been a long wait for issue #5 of Veil, but to say this comic has been disappointing in its first four issues would be an understatement. Between the slow pace, the forgettable writing and characters, how unexciting it has been, and these constant delays, my enthusiasm has effectively been killed for this book. However, the final issue is here and maybe it can end on a high note. Is it good?
Veil #5 (Dark Horse Comics)
The end is nigh. Cormac has Veil under his control and plans on using her to do other dirty little deeds for him… whatever they may be. Veil can’t do a thing to stop him either. Dante is on the way to save her though, but can he do it considering he’s a mere mortal?
Who was that guy again? I can’t recall. Must not have been important.
So… yeah. That… was something I suppose. It just… left me completely indifferent. A hollow, empty, and lifeless ending to a lifeless and hollow comic. The story does wrap up all the plotlines… to a certain degree (who knows whatever happened to the cops and if they are still chasing Dante) and brings the story closure. The only two loose things left over are Veil disappearing to who knows where at the end and something on the final page. While the police are investigating all the dead bodies left over in those abandoned buildings, this random detective we’ve never seen before picks up this piece of chain that was used to control Veil and pockets it for herself. Who is she and what does it mean? Who the hell knows! All that I know is that the comic really didn’t need this random cliffhanger.
But if the story is all completely wrapped up, what makes this a hollow and empty ending and comic? Quite simple actually; it’s the characters themselves. These characters are so forgettable and unexplored. We barely learned anything about Cormac or any of his motivations and we didn’t spend all that much time with Dante to really care about him, despite him being the hero here. Hell, he and Veil couldn’t have spent more than half a day with each other, so it doesn’t come off as being all that believable about how dedicated he would be to saving her or how much she would care about him in the end. Then finally, there’s Veil herself. She’s barely had anything resembling a personality or backstory (she’s a minion of hell… and that’s it), just being jerked around by several different guys and being more of a plot point if anything. For the title character, she’s just not that interesting and worth caring about here.
The writing isn’t anything to get all excited about either. The pacing is lightening quick, with the story just going by quickly despite the second half being an info drop and one final subplot appearing to artificially stretch the story and conflict out. Speaking of which, since we don’t really care or have been given a reason to care or grow attached to anyone, this final subplot and conflict feels more like filler. The dialogue is fine, but doesn’t really stand out all that well. The story flows fine from page to page and there’s really no awkward transitions, but that’s it. This was just a lackluster story with forgettable characters.
The artwork is probably the strongest part of the actual comic, but that really isn’t saying much considering everything else. The imagery is nice and creepy, the mood is eerie, the coloring is pretty, and the characters look alright despite this stylization used. There’s nothing to really write home about the layouts though. Overall, it looks solid but that’s not enough at all to save this book.
Is It Good?
Veil #5 and by extension the entire mini-series is just not that good or worth your time. It had some interesting ideas looking back on it and the artwork was nice, if a bit too stylized at points, but overall, I can’t recommend it. The writing isn’t good enough, and the story and characters are underdeveloped and poorly executed. If you haven’t read this comic yet, just skip it and put your cash towards a different mini-series that’s more rewarding.
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