It has been over seven months since the last issue of The Hangman, but it all comes to an end with a question mark here. Before we reach that question mark we must ask our own question…is it good?
The Hangman #4 (Dark Circle Comics)
So what’s it about? The Dark Circle summary reads:
“Damned, Part 4” Mike Minetta has not been the Hangman long but he already faces the hardest decision any Hangman has ever had to make—let his family die… or save them and defy the will of Heaven and Hell itself!
Why does this book matter?
Just take a look at our previous reviews of this series and you’ll note we’ve dug the heck out of it. The act that it has been delayed for some time has only made the conclusion all the more wanted. This issue delivers…sort of.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Ouchie.
Frank Tieri continues to write solid dialogue, especially for the devil, in part because the devil is in the form of a little girl. This allows the action to go all out as we get all the character win in the more talkative scenes. The best action scene of the bunch is between Asmodeus and the Devil and it pushes the brink of what any medium can do. This, along with the Hangman kicking butt too, will make you wish this series was put into a miniseries format just to see it in some visual format.
Felix Ruiz draws a pretty mean issue with a great reveal of the devil in a wonderfully laid out full page spread. The devil, and the Hangman for that matter, both have solid facial expressions to keep you in tune with their emotions. The action is quite brutal too and it does well to remind us this hero really doesn’t care about killing, but that’s easy to understand given his backstory. The final two pages, while simple, do a lot to convince the reader more Hangman comics should be made due to the look of his powers, but also the evil grin Ruiz gives a character.
It can’t be perfect can it?
It’s hard not to see this final issue as anything but rushed. Characters are whisked into fighting, the hero wraps things up conveniently, and the plot falls into place with too much ease. The Jack Tenant character, Hangman’s scribe, serves as a hanger-on who whines more than actually contributing to the story. A lot of the mythical and hero’s journey stuff seems to have been dropped so as to get the characters from point A to point B as quickly and violently as possible.
Just grab him by the noose you idiots!
Is It Good?
A key scene between deities will shock and surprise. Really the devil steals the show, but readers are in for a satisfying conclusion.
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