“Wild’s End” #4 is another stellar installment in this fabulous series. Mr. Fawkes joins up with our rag tag group of heroes and is finally taken seriously. He was dismissed almost immediately, by most, when he gave his early warning of what was to come. Our heroes now understand all too well the real danger these “space-things” can cause and the doom that they bring.
WRITTEN BY: Dan Abnett
ART BY: I.N.J Culbard
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: December 10, 2014
Reviewed By: Torin Chambers
The tension is high this week as Wild’s End Opens with us looking down the double barrels of Mr. Fawkes shotgun as he yells “RUN” to what’s left of our group of heroes. They’re standing in the middle of a massive field of corn, hearing the ominous “klik-klik-klik-klik” all around them. The group promptly makes a run for it and escape the deadly field. As they pass Fawkes convinces Clive to make a stand with him and see if they can take the mechanical beast down. This is another excellent scene showcasing these incredibly different people/animals being forced together under these extreme circumstances. It’s a blast to see these opposites begrudgingly work together.
Together they blast the damn thing to oblivion, cracking open its glass dome in the process. This releases a strange and curious wisp like thing that floats up into the sky far beyond their reach. Was it just some form of gas fueling the machine or, more sinisterly, could it have been an alien life from that was piloting the small bot? It certainly raises a myriad of questions and is infinitely intriguing, reminding me of the whispering wall in Abnett and Culbard’s last collaboration: Dark Ages. If the amazing reveal done in Dark Ages in any indication this will be shocking, stimulating and superb.
My only criticism comes from the cliffhanger for this issue. About three quarters of the way through there is a perfect cliffhanger, involving a shadowy figure pointing a gun at one of our protagonists. It’s an utter “Holy Shit” moment that makes the actual cliffhanger feel weaker by comparison. Not to say it’s bad, just that the stakes could have been raised higher.
With only 2 issues left Wild’s End is running ahead at full steam. We even get a brief glimpse of that large alien machine from the cover the first issue. Our heroes have the toughest part of the journey left, one that I see being incredibly far from their humble beginnings 4 issues ago. Wild’s End is headed for a grand conclusion that will undoubtedly rock everyone’s worlds.
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Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter @TorinsChambers