Across issues #3 and #4, Tigress Island had done a rather exemplary job of truly ramping up.
After a couple issues getting to know our “squad” — Bridget, Lonni, Yulia, Hema, Delight, and Vanessa — we got to see more of the island, plenty of subtle but effective lore and world-building, and lots of great thematic insights (the nature of power, gender politics, the fecklessness of the male ego, etc.) It was everything that creators Patrick Kindlon and EPHK had promised us all along: a wild slice of exploitation comics with layers and power galore.
And, on at least a couple levels, Tigress Island #5 continues the ramp up with genuine effectiveness. And, on a couple of other levels, it also maybe falls a wee bit short.
Main cover by EPHK. Courtesy of Image Comics.
As for the parts where the finale genuinely excels, it’s once again primarily the work from EPHK. After losing two members in issue #4 (Yulia and Hema), the remaining girls — and their new prisoner, the actual builder of their island prison — have to survive an onslaught from “The Mistress.” And as far as big action set pieces go, it’s another barn-burner from Tigress Island.
We got a great “medley” of both sides preparing, which is not only fun but feels like a genuine staple of the exploitation “genre.” (Also, in one of my favorite moments in the story, their prisoner dude tried to have his own in-scene flashback only to be violently denied by Lonni. It’s an existentially satisfying moment, and something that hit every element of this book in perfect measure.)
From there, it was all about sleek sword fights, hang gliders as bomber jets, blood and explosions like mosquitos in a swamp, and generally the kind of oversized release that befits a proper conclusion. We’ve not exactly been starved of violence and action across Tigress Island, but the stuff in issue #5 was slick and unflinching and felt as satisfying as much as it was well-deserved and perfectly plotted/outlined.
Variant cover by Michael Hacker. Courtesy of Image Comics.
Of course, this issue wasn’t just an excuse to see dudes get totes cut in half, or a pretty sweet duel between Lonni and The Mistress. (As has been the case across all of Tigress Island, EPHK’s style offered both an intimacy and a cartoonish distance that really made all of this combat feel hugely textured.) As with issue #4, there were some real stakes in that more of our beloved squad lost their lives. The prior deaths of both Yulia and Hema weren’t just satisfying (and importantly individualistic in their scope) but still felt earnest and empowering in a story that’s largely about sexual violence against women.
This time around, we get more of that with some especially strategic deaths (with ample space for brutality and emotionality), and while I won’t spoil who takes their final bow, they really feel like a proper step-up. There’s genuine humor and a degree of surprise and undeniable honesty attached to each death (in varying degrees, of course), and that isn’t just a way to honor these very real characters, but further respect us as readers.
Another version of this book would’ve kept everyone alive in the most hacky way possible, and while that could’ve been fun (sorta), I’m glad Kindlon and EPHK think better of us. That to know not everyone will see the end is exactly what happens in life, and forces us to connect with and then lose characters that aren’t just entertaining but representative of the real women who’ve died at the hands of evil, lazy, ignorant men everywhere.
Variant cover by NIW. Courtesy of Image Comics.
The creators made us really feel it all — not just the finality of death, but all the multifaceted wrinkles that complicate dying and grief and make the process all the more real. It really, really all happens in Tigress Island, and you have to live with the many layers of meaning that these deaths each represent.
At the same time, I think there’s at least some aspects of the exploitation genre that perhaps felt lost or at least note quite as satisfying in their placement. It’s very much a “genre” of wish fulfillment, and while this finale (and, really, the whole story) had plenty of that, it didn’t resonate as much as it perhaps it should have at this point in our tale.
One aspect of the story that you’d hope would end in a definitive and satisfying conclusion (you know what it is…) mostly felt wishy-washy. And while said decision leaves the room open for future tales from the Tigress Island “universe,” a little extra finality would’ve been really, really nice. This book clearly didn’t have a problem with exploring and utilizing death, and one character escaping theirs (when it seems to have been coming all along) just felt both unsatisfying and a touch obtuse.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Still, it’s not just that the creators made an editorial decision that I didn’t like (and that I still respected it to a certain enough degree). This character’s fate seemed to almost supersede that of the remaining squad. What we got left with, then, was a wee bit of a bait and switch, and a gimmick that really denied the girls their own meaningful conclusion (and our own ability to connect with/unpack that huge moment). It felt a little like after almost five full issues of the girls being respected above all else, that they’d been rendered gimmicks or jokes at the absolute worst time.
It still felt like a satisfying enough ending, but I think more could have been done to really give the girls some uncomplicated spotlight even for a brief moment. A moment, I’d add, that didn’t need a clever twist or spin. and should’ve just been left to stand. Or, at the bare minimum, said twist/spin could’ve been made much more understated to still fully uplift the remaining squad.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Still, even a slightly underwhelming ending couldn’t fully ruin Tigress Island for me. Few books going right now have been as brave enough to tackle this subject matter from the male perspective, and the fact that it worked in poking holes and raising questions feels like a victory. The same with the exploitation “angle”: In a market utterly saturated with violence, the offerings in this book always worked to make this action thematically resonant. And the fact that this book was unwavering in its efforts — killing characters, remaining tonally consistent (generally), etc. — is also quite impressive in and of itself.
The slightly disappointing tinge of the ending is just something that I’ll have to manage on my own. Maybe one day it’ll feel like another lesson from a genuinely great book. Or, it’ll be something I can make peace with in the grander context of this effort. But for now, it mostly is what it is, and after five solid issues, I can say Tigress Island was this gut-punch of a thrill ride. It was a story that worked meaningfully to build and build into something wild and thoughtful about the way we regard women and the work we need to do to be better as men (and also society as a whole).
If this island rendezvous later turns into a world tour, count on me in for more big lessons and bigger mayhem.
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