Nothing like the end of the world. Nothing like it in the world.
Skottie Young brings about the end of Fairyland in the finale of the second arc. All done, go home.
Okay, this is somewhat in the spirit of a gag Young pulls in this issue, but while he’s setting it up, we get a wonderful, Cable-inspired, time-travel fun-ride filled with paradoxes. Young shows our merry band many years in the future, unsurprisingly dealing with the results of someone’s poor decision-making skills. Now, we see Gert and Larry in their final forms, along with a bunch of tagalongs (some old, some new who are mostly their own gags) and watching a being filled with hate and betrayal laying waste to all that is left of Fairyland. (I mean Gertude’s still there…eventually, they have to run out of mythical critters and landscape, right?) Any guesses why the rampaging? You’ll know as soon as you see him.
Young reveals on the last page where the series will be heading next, as this last arc was much more about single episodic jaunts over the cohesive and unified storyline that began the series. He promises that although there will continue to be one-shots, there will be small arcs rolling through in the future. I’ll be honest, I look forward to that, because while I find the book funny and engaging as always, I feel jarred at the beginning of the next issue, having expected some kind of carry-over from the last. There are certainly opportunities for longer plots in what he’s showing us now. Hopefully, loose threads can be woven back into the tale in upcoming issues.
The art is always spot on in every issue and never disappoints. Future Gert and Larry have phenomenal designs and are a really fun alternate to their traditional looks. I could dig a whole storyline in that vein for a while; it would be a fun departure. I definitely have to call out Jean-Francois Beaulieu with his work in this issue; the highlight work is staggering in its depth and complexity, lending the already epic compositions some cinematic lighting and bringing a vibrant tone to the work. There’s one page where Young has condensed an explanation montage, and the detail he fills it with is nothing short of sublime. Tiny details can make the most dull panels thrum with life, and when it’s someone like Skottie Young doing it, you have only the best results.
With any luck we’ll have a juicy and oddball storyline to bring us into the next arc, and we’ll get to enjoy this crazy series at its best. That said, this one-shot brings the house down and all the snark and wit one could hope for outside of political arenas. (ooOOOOooo, topical!) Check it out, as it’s our last taste until much later in the year.
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