Following on from issue #2, Will Warren continues his consuming search for his late daughter, Wendy, in Mazebook #3. After realizing that Wendy could be hiding somewhere within his own city, Will truly starts to take matters into his own hands.
With access to the city’s maps, Will searches for any correlation between the unfinished maze his daughter left behind and the streets around him. Lemire wonderfully captures both Will’s focus and neurotic search for answers. Scenes of Will getting a tattoo of his late daughter’s unfinished maze to a compulsive rampage against a brick wall, Lemire’s freehand, scribbled lines add weight to Will’s story.
As Will rushes to his next location, a setback causes him to temporarily pause; a worthwhile pause, in fact, as for the first time in Mazebook we see Will in the company of a genuine listener. Lisa, his neighbor in their apartment building, offers him kindness and hospitality, more than anything we have seen from the cast in Mazebook so far.
An empathetic ear. A bowl of hot ramen. And more importantly, a soundboard for Will to bounce off his outrageous quest for his daughter. These are the gentle moments that are created through Will and Lisa’s dialogue, and it’s refreshing to witness Will in this warm interaction.
The most fascinating part of their dialogue is the reveal of some coincidental parallels between the two. Lisa works in the city’s architectural heritage office, responsible for fundraising to preserve historical buildings. On the other hand, Will is a building inspector working across new developments in the city. Such a contrast in occupations gives us another lure to an already engaging story, and we can only imagine how Lemire will weave these two characters together to carry the story forward.
And as it turns out, Lisa’s involvement with Will might serve to make his journey a little bit easier as the conclusion to Mazebook #3 reveals that another mutual companion may help Will to navigate the next deep, labyrinthine walls.
Dark Horse Comics
Lemire continues to create clever panels and evocative moments through his gritty lines and watercolor palettes. A satisfying double-page spread reveals a map of the city, overwhelmingly large across the two pages and creating a deep sense of space. The unfinished maze found in Wendy’s maze book overlays on top of the city blueprint, with red lines standing out in stark contrast. Key moments in the story are also washed in faded blues and deep black inks, evoking a different world in contrast to Will’s daunting reality.
A deep sense of mood throughout Mazebook #3 is also evident as Lemire uses Will’s inner monologue to describe the emotions of a grieving father, vulnerable to both strangers and the world around him. It’s simply hard to imagine how another artist could visually accentuate the exhaustion in Will’s face.
Mazebook #3 is a brilliant third chapter of Lemire’s meditation on a father’s loss. Lemire’s focus on Will’s erratic determination continues to be an empathetic journey, and his visual work is as immersive as ever, with expressive pencils and moody colors.
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