There’s something about Exquisite Corpses that feels like a sleeper hit, yet it’s packed with incredible characters and creators manning the ship. The last issue humanized two of the civilians while progressing the game of kill or be killed by a slew of psychopaths and professional killers. As the cover reveals, Exquisite Corpses #4 focuses on a killer with a crossbow and a woman with a fox mask and a katana. Deaths are coming!
As usual for this series, James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh contribute to the opening and closing of the issue, with Che Grayson writing and Adam Gorham taking up the brunt of the main story. Exquisite Corpses #4 opens with one of the behind-the-scenes workers of the event in a scene that enlightens readers on the mysterious bunny-costumed killer. Walsh is impeccable at drawing your eye, especially in the closing pages that flesh out a killer we haven’t seen before. The bookends are effective in establishing new killers for the playing field.
As far as the main story, Grayson and Gorham pick up the subplot involving a woman who works at a car dealership. There’s also a brief check in with the EMT, but this issue is one of the most hyper-focused issues yet on two specific killers.
I want to eat at Burger Baby.
Credit: Image
It’s in at the car dealership, violence goes down, and Grayson continues to flesh out the reprehensible dealership owner. Good horror always finds a way to make you wish for someone’s demise, and Grayson contributes with Gorham, making him quite sleazy. What sets this scene apart from other tension-filled buildup scenes is a hyper focus on character through the eyes and small movements. The killer that graces the cover may be standing there in fairly normal clothes, but she’s as dangerous as they come.
When violence kicks into gear, this issue certainly leans into the action side of things. There’s some gruesome gore, but your eye will be drawn to Gorham’s fight sequence. It’s daring and exciting, with ample reason to root for one of the killers over the other.
Again, general plotting is different this issue, but it works. One gripe I did have was the method the final killer uses to take people out. It’s a lot less realistic than what we’ve seen before, pushing the believability and making this a touch more sci-fi than it has been before.
Exquisite Corpses #4 is a tense and bloody installment that shines through character-driven horror and visceral action, even if its finale stretches believability more than past issues. It continues to prove this series is a sleeper hit worth following closely, unless of course if you’re a cool kid raring for more. It’s a vicious, stylish clash of killers that reminds you why this series is one of the most unpredictable horror rides in comics today.
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