Jeb and Maggie lead a huge caravan through a rainstorm on their way to rescue Abel and Bobby from the sinister slavery of Raider Farms. Meanwhile, Bobby and Abel are looking for their own way out. Tensions increase as the heroes gain momentum in the fifteenth issue of Middlewest. Writer Skottie Young marches the heroes closer to the final conflict of the series’ first arc. Artist Jorge Corona’s sweeping visuals are given atmospheric depth by Jean-Francois Beaulieu. While there isn’t a great deal going on in the plot of the issue, the emotional momentum of the series continues on the precipice of the turmoil that will likely ensue next issue. 

There’s a great rainstorm. It covers everything. Jeb, Maggie and everyone else in the caravan are slowed-down in their journey to save a couple of kids from the slavers at Raider Farms. This is frustrating, but nowhere near the level of stress, they encounter when they find the storm has taken out a whole bridge. Now the earthbound caravan has to find some way to cross a vast body of water. Meanwhile, Abel and Bobby are dealing with problems of a dryer, hotter. nature on the farm. Abel’s life before he met Bobby turns out to be of some use as the final conflict of the opening arc of the series draws nearer.

The pacing of Young’s story has felt mismanaged in places. Pulling back to look at the overall rhythm of the plot over the course of the past year or so, it’s clear that young has a very firm understanding of the gradual procession of the series. This issue, in particular, has a strange composition with the bulk of it focussing on what might seem like a marginal inconvenience, but it actually does a clever job of illustrating the animosity towards the villains that is common to all in the Middlewest who live in the shadow of Raider Farms. It’s a delicately-rendered chapter with plenty of room for the artists to breathe depth into the visual world of the contemporary North American fantasy world. 

Corona does a great deal with the big, sweeping landscapes of the fantasy world in this issue. There are some very clever uses of negative space in the issue including a big two-page spread for a simple dialogue that is mostly white. Those two pages render a profound feeling of empty stillness that illustrates the seriousness of the problem the caravan faces. Another two-page spread in the rainstorm brings the overwhelming power of nature into sharp focus. Beaulieu’s colors give a profound sense of atmosphere. to the rain-soaked opening pages of the issue, contrasting them hard against the blinding head of Raider Farms at issue’s end. 

With the story marching steadily towards the caravan’s arrival at the farm and the quiet insurrection going on amidst some of the slaves on the farm, things seem to be headed for a satisfying climax in the near future of Middlewest. The blend of rising tension and atmospheric conflict feels perfectly satisfying for the fifteenth issue of the series.

Grade: A-