Comics
Review: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow – Wonderland’ #5
Christos Gage and Jeff Parker’s characterization of Willow Rosenberg conforms to one of the most infallible representations of the witch ever written—post television verse. With a narrative that rapidly advances toward its series’ end, the two formulate the final stages of our protagonist’s journey through her adventures within a significantly bizarre dimension. If Willow’s ever going to make it back home to restore magic to her world, she has to confront the greatest evil she’ll have to face—herself.
WRITTEN BY: Christos Gage, Jeff Parker
ART BY: Brian Ching
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: March 6th
Dark Horse Comics’ “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow – Wonderland” #5 is the final issue in the series, and it easily outshines all previous installments due to the high level of artwork and script. Following a two-month slump, Brian Ching and Michelle Madsen return with beautifully rendered panels that come to life through a simple, yet effective, colour pallet of mostly oranges, greens, blues, and purples. Their knack for visually engaging readers through their art style is effortless, and is only enriched by Jason Gorder’s dramatic inks; the latter especially excels during the final showdown between Willow and Rack.
Part 5 teaches Willow a valuable lesson that’s detrimental to her ultimate quest of restoring magic to her world: It’s possible for opposing forces to exist in the same space. With that in mind, there’s no such thing as Dark Willow or Light Willow; or Dark magic or Light magic. It’s not as black and white as Good vs. Evil. There’s only Dark intent and Dark action. How a being carries the power within itself is what matters.
Unfortunately, the destruction of the Seed of Magic has led Earth to lose the power within itself, and, regardless, no gateway could carry enough magic to restore the world back to what it once was. Magic only exists where it’s inherent, as “part of the essence of a being”. One who is worthy and ready for such a responsibility, and one who will use the magic given to them, but not only for them.
Now, what Willow chooses to do with this enormous responsibility is limitless, but Gage and Parker end the series in a way that feels as if it’s come full circle; paying homage to, and symbolically revamping, a particular panel in the first installment which showcased the lack of creativity, inspiration, and vision amongst civilians in a magicless world.
You’ll have to pick up the final installment to truly appreciate such a satisfying, yet vastly open end; not only for the Willow fans, but for the Buffy fandom in general, as it ties directly to Season 9’s narrative and future of the verse. The two stunning covers by David Mack and Megan Lara are just a bonus.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – ShadowJayd
Comics
[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream
Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.
“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”
Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.
Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.
Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.
Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.
Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.
Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.
Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.
Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion.
Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.
‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.
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