[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Eric M. Esquivel
Artist: Ramon Villalobos
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Deron Bennett
Summary
In this month’s trip to the border, we see a flashback that helps us learn how Quinteh started wearing his mask. Besides the fact that his mask is totally freaky and he is kind of freaky, the story is incredibly touching. Meanwhile, in the now, the unlikely gang decides what to do about shape shifting monsters. As anyone who has spent a lot of time around a bunch of teenagers will not be shocked to learn, they decide to do nothing until they are forced into action.
We get a chance to see the “other side of the fence” which turns out to be pretty freaky.
Positives
Ramon Villalobos is kind of amazing. There is so much to see. The real world looks so real. I love the way that Quinteh does everything in his mask and that Villalobos makes us see that how hard that is. Here, check this out:
Then, once we take a trip across the border, and the monsters are so detailed. There is a splash page in this that you should spend some time with. There is so much to see there. They are literally the stuff of nightmares. If you are prone to nightmares, honestly, read this during the day.
The best thing Esquivel does is in the real world. His word play is spot on. His dialogue is razor sharp. I like these kids a lot. They talk like teenagers. They do dumb things like teenagers. They are smarter than most adults give them credit for, like most teenagers. The social commentary is honest and brutal and I see how the play on the border is going to work. I love that there is not a lot of “Girls can’t do that” crap that shows up in stories like this. The girls are awesome and real. The boys dumb things and they are real. Well done.
Negatives
While I love the concept of the world under and just beyond our world, I didn’t care for the dialogue there. It felt like because this is a Vertigo comic and anything goes, anything went. Granted, I am not sure how a crazy, two faced demon of the Nightmare Realm of Mictlan might speak, but it just doesn’t seem like he would talk like an amped up dude bro. It could be just me, but that seems totally out of place.
Verdict
I do think that there is going to be a lot of fun to be had here. The last page was pretty amazing. Frank clearly has some bigger reason to be in Devil’s Fork. I can not wait to find out what those reasons are. I am all in on this book and you should be too.
