Exquisite Corpses comes to an end this week after 14 months, 12 killers, and one town at the center of it all. The specialized killers are off the board, and now it’s come down to two people who may not be trained to kill, but they harbor the weapons of the elite to determine who will rule America. Two more people enter, and only one state can win.
After the incredible fight choreography of the last issue, Michael Walsh and James Tynion IV continue to see this series through with the final chapter in Exquisite Corpses #13. While there is some continued great action here, this issue is more about the battle of the best ideas. At the center of it all are two citizens, one a bit mad who only wants what is best for her son, and the other calm and collected, ready to end this to ensure she and a few others don’t die. The horror, in a sense, is the realization that there’s no way out when the super-rich hold all the cards.
Intercut with the actions of the last two fighters are the behind-the-scenes super-rich, who argue over the rules since, technically, all killers are off the board. These scenes help hammer home the weight of the last battle and the futility of it all.
Once a winner is chosen, Walsh draws a great montage of bodies being burned and collected, with the main killers being thrown around like trash while soldiers laugh. There’s a heartlessness here captured well, especially when we see the ruler of Massachusetts look on with beady, evil eyes. Lives are lost, and for what?
Time to throw down.
Credit: Image
If you’re wondering about the key characters we’ve followed through all these issues, the last five pages do a good job of establishing where they’ll be when all is said and done. One can only imagine they’ll appear in season two, although who knows, maybe it’ll be twelve more fighters and another battle royal with nothing more. Hard to believe, given Tynion’s track record.
If you’re reading this, note that there is a secret end-credit-style scene that sneaks in at the end of this issue. Given the already announced spin-off, it’s not a huge surprise; this end scene helps establish the next “season” of the series.
If it’s not apparent yet, this issue does feel less climactic than the last, serving more as an epilogue, even during the fight. The fight’s outcome feels inevitable, and either character’s win isn’t really a win. The last issue offered up intense climactic fighting, but here it’s all a bit sad, by design. The big twists and heroic moments are over, and now it’s time to clean up for the next fight, which is ultimately a bummer as democracy itself no longer exists.
Exquisite Corpses #13 ends on a grim and reflective note, trading the explosive chaos of prior issues for a sobering epilogue about power, control, and the illusion of choice. James Tynion IV smartly frames the finale around ideology and inevitability rather than pure violence, while Michael Walsh delivers haunting imagery that reinforces the emotional emptiness left behind after the bloodshed. While the issue lacks the raw intensity of the previous chapter, it succeeds as a thematic closer that leaves readers unsettled and curious about what comes next.
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