“The Empty Man” is a book that has evolved considerably over 6 issues. When it began I pegged it as a “True Detective”-esque noir with an occult flavor. It wasn’t long before supernatural and metaphysical elements took center stage; when that demon crawled out of the ceiling in the interrogation room I realized this series was going to be a hell of a lot weirder and I was still on board. Then when things started getting really high concept, some times to the point of being incomprehensible, it was more “Leftovers” than “True Detective”. It all worked for me, truly, the weirder the better in my book. The weirdest thing of all, and what I can’t find a way to reconcile about this book, is that it positively has no ending.
WRITTEN BY: Cullen Bunn
ART BY: Vanesa R. Del Rey
PUBLISHER: BOOM!
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: December 10, 2014
Reviewed By Eric Switzer
What began as a mission to find a pair of missing siblings became one of the most surreal and imaginative horror books I’ve ever read. Somewhere along the way the series got off the tracks. It started with a deliciously creepy premise: a series of horrifically unique suicides are committed all over the world and the only thing connecting them is the phrase “The Empty Man made me do it.”
As an elevator pitch its an incredibly intriguing start. Now bring in rough old detective who’s seen it all and is at the end of his career and seemingly his life, and his snappy young partner with shiny new badge, and you’ve got the perfect set up. Then things got really weird; both interesting weird and confusing weird.
As a series, it has been a bit hit and miss in terms of concepts introduced, and through the last two issues I must admit that I was confused even by the plot. Throughout, though, “The Empty Man” maintained its signature style, expressionistic panelling, interesting use of camera perspective, and tight scripting that made each issue come alive with a fast pace. I was truly on the fence about this series all the way up until the end, and by “end” I mean the decision to finish the story at what conceivably should have been the climax, not the conclusion. Whether this was meant to be a statement on storytelling in comics, or a rejection of narrative conventions, it isn’t evident – at all. In fact it comes across like Bunn simply ran out of pages to tell his story with.
It is my tendency to take responsibility when something confuses me or if I can’t decipher the intention of the creator, I would hate to be perceived as a philistine. But if I feel this way certainly others must have been just as confused. I literally flipped back to the first page to verify the “issue 6 of 6” on the cover then started googling “The Empty Man #7”. Whatever the creators meant to do by ending the series in a cliffhanger, it was entirely lost on me. I actually feel taken advantage of, like I invested in this story and I’m not getting my return. Despite all of its qualities, reading this book made me angry.
—
Eric Switzer is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles. His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality. He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.
