With only one more issue left after this one (NOOOOOOO!!!), Nailbiter‘s penultimate’s chapter digs up some long buried Buckaroo secrets.
Nailbiter #29 (Image Comics)
Observations
- That awkward moment when your family is stuck in an underground dungeon with a psychotic ex-law enforcement officer.
- Wow. Say what you want about The Master being a horrible person, but his digs are pretty sweet.
- Ugh. Poor Agent Finch :(
- Wait…who’s The Master?
- Oh yeah, that guy.
- BOOM! Alice hits ‘em with a deft exposition dump!
- Man, The Blond is not looking too good these days.
- Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually feel sorry for two psycho killers right now…
- Okay, maybe just one of them.
The Verdict
The bad news: The reveal of who The Master is will probably disappoint you.
The good news: As the characters point out almost immediately, The Master’s identity really doesn’t matter.
The real secrets of Buckaroo—what makes the serial killers, why that secret could it end the world as we know it, what does Agent Carroll taste like, etc.—are finally coming to light.
Is it everything I hoped? Kind of.
For starters, I LOVE the way Joshua Williamson continues to mix science, psychology, and the supernatural, even here at the very end. This issue does it with a truly stark and terrifying subject in Agent Barker, whose horrific journey finally comes full circle.
Unfortunately, an issue like this one—which sets up a grand finale—is highly susceptible to gigantic exposition dumps. Williamson does a good job keeping things interesting, but the narrative still drags quite a bit at times. There are also a few narrative hand waves that disrupt the otherwise beautifully complex mythology being explained to both the characters and the reader.
All that being said, Nailbiter #29 is still riveting issue, thanks in no small part to Mike Henderson’s artwork. If you thought watching Buckaroo explode looked awesome, wait until you see how he draws the Master’s giant temple/lair/laboratory.
And as usual, the creative ends things on a cliffhanger that will make the wait for next month’s issue feel interminable…only this time, it we’ll be waiting to read the very last one.
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