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Review: ‘The Last of Us: American Dreams’ #4

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Game writer, Neil Druckmann, and lead artist Faith Erin Hicks, turn in the fourth installment of “The Last of Us: American Dreams”, closing the final chapter of Dark Horse Comics’ noteworthy prequel to Naughty Dog’s original creation. Chronicling Ellie’s journey prior to the established video game storyline, this mini-series proves to be as accessible and thrilling to new fans, as the game is illustrious and esteemed in the industry.

WRITTEN BY: Neil Druckmann & Faith Erin Hicks
ART BY: Faith Erin Hicks
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: June 26, 2013

Those who have already completed the game are probably wondering whether Druckmann and Hicks chose to take Ellie and Riley’s story to its poetically tragic end. As it turns out, there is definitely more pre-game universe ground that can potentially be covered, should both writers choose to expand upon the series in the future.

The final issue begins where the last leaves off; with Ellie and Riley being captured by the anti-government militia group, also known as The Fireflies. The end of issue #3 introduces a familiar face from the game ‘verse: Marlene. In this issue she provides Riley with some cold hard truths regarding the bleak reality of what it really means to join the Fireflies, and shocks Ellie after relaying a surprising amount of knowledge that she’s accumulated about her. Bound and imprisoned, the girls must handle threats from both The Fireflies, and a band of gun-wielding smugglers who have stumbled upon them.

Druckmann and Hicks end the series on an unsurprisingly somber note, given the violent, post-pandemic setting “The Last of Us” exists in. Disillusionment and despondency sneak up on the characters when they’re faced with the fact that “all roads lead to the same end.” It’s a hopeless and dark message, but essentially ties off the series’ dramatic narrative in the most appropriate way. Both writers really deliver authentic drama and raw intensity throughout this entire installment, something that was missing in the previous issues.

It’s been difficult trying to get behind Riley’s overall personality in this series, generally speaking, she’s not a very likeable individual, but the character development seen in issue #4 will dissolve any reservations readers may have. Her final scene on issue #4 will really resonate with readers.

The artwork remains consistently good. Hicks’ style isn’t overly complicated or detailed, but visually expressive when it matters. She conveys an array of emotion when illustrating the characters’ expressions, and knows how to build up suspense through lively panel work when the script calls for high-action scenes. Colourist Rachelle Rosenberg sticks with just the right palette of dark and murky hues in order to effectively portray the grim universe; and artist, Julian Totino Tedesco delivers another beautifully illustrated cover for the series. His work always hits the mark.

“The Last of Us: American Dreams” finally concludes its Dark Horse run, but there’s still room in the pre-game universe for a larger story to be told.

4/5 Skulls

Review by – ShadowJayd

Comics

[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

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Tender Beth Hetland Graphic Novel

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.

4 out of 5 skulls

Tender graphic novel review

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