A former Heavy named Moore claims to know the truth about Slim and Bill’s mission. Things keep getting stranger in the Big Wait, as Bill begins to see an all-new side of Slim.
This issue has some exceptional character work, expanding a bit on some of the supporting cast. In particular, Kyle is given more depth in a touching heart-to-heart with Bill. The conversation they have is genuinely warm and affectionate, even with a bombshell of a reveal about Kyle’s life on Earth.
On the downside, it occasionally feels as though the issue is jumping around a bit much. Previous issues have used time jumps to show Bill acclimating to his work in the Big Wait, and the trauma that it has brought him. It has also been an effective tool showing how Bill and Slim’s relationship has evolved. Here, however, it feels like there’s so much of this evolution in their partnership that is not fully explored outside of narrative boxes.
The idea that Slim is finding his purpose in punishing alternate versions of himself is an interesting one, but the plot point feels most impactful when the characters are actually speaking to one another about it toward the end of the issue.
Where this issue truly sings is in Max Bemis’ dialogue. When Slim tells Bill about his new perspective on the afterlife, it rings true in a way that telling the reader through a caption doesn’t quite manage. Likewise, the conversation between Bill and Moore that opens the book is fascinating, getting into the philosophical and moral implications of a Heavy’s occupation.
That’s not to say that all of the less talky bits don’t land. Yet again, Eryk Donovan and Cris Peter create some truly wild alternate universes for these characters to wreck. There are some impressively outlandish designs on display, some of which are only visible for a single panel as Bill and Slim slice and shoot their way through another strange new world.
The final pages set up some interesting implications for the ongoing story, but I won’t spoil that here. It seems that Heavy is galloping towards the next big arc, which may account for some of the jumping around in this issue.
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