The End Times of Bram and Ben is a smart and savvy religious commentary supported by humor and some kicka– angel vs. demon battles. When Bram Carlson is accidentally taken up to Heaven during the Rapture and rejected, Bram decides to become the antichrist on Earth and encourage people to sin to their heart’s content, so they don’t wind up in a boring place filled with boring, old, naked people. Bram’s roommate and best friend, Ben, is horrified upon learning that Heaven is real and tries to clean up his act to make sure he is not one of the damned. After a long road and lots of conflict, this is it: the end of The End Times.

If it seems really difficult to wrap up a grand, epic war between Heaven and Hell that rips into the foundations of religion and follows up the climatic ending of Issue #3, I’d imagine you’d be right, but James Asmus and Jim Festante succeed at it and make it look easy. I was concerned going in that the only way to wrap up this tale would be to fall into one of the few endings that all biblical apocalypses seem to fall into, but rest assured The End Times ends as well as it started and does so with some religious insights that I could get behind.

As always, The End Times of Bram and Ben isn’t merely content with being one of the smartest comics out there; it has wonderful art by Rem Broo and is colored by Overdrive Studio with over-the-top action scenes, and this issue turns up those aspects up to 11. While the humor was toned down a bit in this issue, it stayed strong through one force: Laura. That’s right, the gym teacher and Ben’s love interest proves to be one of the most bada– and funniest characters, even if it’s not entirely of her own volition.

If it were possible to give a comic a standing ovation, this one would deserve it. Anyone who has an interest in discussing faith and religion needs to read The End Times of Bram and Ben. If only all apocalyptic tales were this good and entertaining.