Sci-fi, espionage, and pop culture references combine in Maskerade #7, the latest issue from Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash Press label under Dark Horse Comics. Written by Smith and Andy Mcelfresh, the series has our masked hero infiltrate the enemy’s compound, but she’s not going to like what she learns in the process. Its come a long way since its first issue, and the penultimate issue aims to bring things full circle.
As the penultimate issue, Maskerade #7 adds layers to our main character Felicia while setting up its grand finale. For all intents and purposes, it succeeds in building on what came before while raising the stakes. Felicia is taking out bad people while growing her hit show “Bye Felicia”, and now he has a new target. Unfortunately for her, this target is ready for an attack.
If you like pop culture references, the opening scene with Felicia crawling through an air duct will keep you fed. Once we get to the confrontation, the creators flip things around, making it an attack of words and ideas. Felicia learns something quite brutal about her past, which could break her. Thankfully for her, she has friends looking out for her, which leads to some body horror violence customary of the series.
Credit: Dark Horse
Outside of Felicia, the issue mainly sets things up for the final issue. A rescue takes place off-panel, for instance, and luckily the main confrontation gives us enough character work to keep us entertained. This series has been mainly about the corruption of society through the rich and powerful and the vapid TV we consume regularly, and in this issue, Felicia may have lost someone close to her. Still, she’s undoubtedly supported by her fans and close friends.
This issue suffers from way too much happening off-panel. That includes some healthy deus ex machina to get Felicia out of an impossible-to-escape trap. Given how well the villain planned, you’d think he’d have a guard or some security to avoid Felicia’s friend from walking in and decking him. It’s also confusing why Dwayne changed his mind about killing everyone in the cages, as we saw in the last issue. Details aren’t adding up, making the finer story taking place a bit confusing. That said, the bigger message about filming death on TV and viewers eating it up remains interesting.
There’s also potential here that isn’t mined, like Felicia’s growth as a character. Does she have the right to judge others when she doesn’t know herself? The revelation of this issue may lead to these kinds of questions being asked, but a lot of what takes place is at face value in this issue.
Drawn by Giulia Gualazzi with colors by Giulia Brusco and letters by Andrew Thomas, the art is generally good, especially for the vibe the series is going for. Highlights include the weaponry Felicia uses, the violence, and a doll house. The doll house reveals Felicia’s treatment over the years in each room, creating a psychological horror show depicted in a childlike way. It’s a copy and paste from the last issue, but the visual works well. While I miss the distinct style of series co-creator John Sprengelmeyer, the gritty realism of Gualiazzi suits the series’ tone.
Maskerade #7 has all the fixings for a good penultimate issue as it sets up the finale while pushing its protagonist mentally.
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