During the course of its run, Kill Your Darlings has introduced a grand fantasy realm, dived deep into the history of a malevolent witch, and all the while it’s provided a surprisingly deep look at its characters’ mental state. Kill Your Darlings #7, the penultimate issue, keeps all of this in mind while delivering some major twists along the way. Once again, none of this would be possible without the creative team of writers Griffin Sheridan and Ethan S. Parker, artist Bob Quinn, and letterer John J. Hill.
For this part of the story, Sheridan and Parker pit Rose against the malevolent Girl Who Wouldn’t Burn. This is cathartic on a number of levels: the Girl has been responsible for a great deal of misery in Rose’s life, including corrupting the very nature of Rosewood and leading to her tortured adolescence. It all boils over in a single panel where Rose screams at the Girl “I DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU!”, further cementing her stand against the corrupt witch. I’m a huge fan of characters fighting back against seemingly impossible odds, and Rose gets to do that on multiple levels throughout this issue.
Once again, Quinn shows his particular talent of blending the cute and cuddly creatures of Rosewood with the malevolent magics of the Girl. A great example of this happens toward the opening pages, when a pair of Rosewood’s inhabitants are transformed into a human state. Quinn doesn’t shy away from how painful this is: their bodies warp and twist, accompanied by the sound of breaking bones and the nightmarish visuals of stretching flesh. Quinn’s color work also strikes a balance between warmer, more vibrant tones (particularly the collection of color that is Rosewood) with the more grayish, nightmare-style visuals of the Girl’s magic.
Finally, Hill delivers his own mix of unique lettering. He crafts crooked, inhuman word balloons for the Girl’s spells. He keeps the medieval-style purple text for the residents of Rosewood. When characters make grand proclamations the words are big and bold to match. No matter the book, Hill’s work proves that he’s one of the best letterers working in the comic book business.
Kill Your Darlings #7 sets the stage for a grand finale, while still remaining full of all the elements that made this miniseries an amazing read. The final issue debuts next month, and all signs point to it being one that fans won’t want to miss.
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