The Royal Flush Gang is up against the wall in a vicious volley of gunfire. Matters are made all the more complicated by the presence of the masked vigilante known as Nightwing and his associates. Things aren’t going well for the woman looking to take over Gotham City’s underworld in Punchline: The Gotham Game #5. Writers Tini Howard and Blake Howard reach the penultimate chapter of their mini-series in an issue that is drawn by artist Gleb Melnikov and colorist Luis Guerrero. The mix of sci-fi and gritty crime drama feels a bit twisted as the title character takes a dive towards her final issue.

Nanotech. Arcs of strange energy. Gunfire of varying different calibers and rates of fire. Somewhere along the line, things got a little out of control. Punchline knows this, but she’s confident that she can overcome the chaos and take control of it. Nameless thugs appear to be dying. Some major figures in the Gotham City underworld are involved. It’s only a matter of time before one or more of them get seriously hurt or possibly killed. Nothing ever goes as planned, though. Gotham City chaos is on a whole different level than it is anywhere else.

Howard and Howard are juggling a whole lot of crazy in the lead-up to the final issue of the series. Punchline doesn’t seem nearly as fascinating as most of the rest of the characters in her book. That might have something to do with the fact that she doesn’t actually show up all that much in the chapter. She’s made a strong enough impression throughout the comic thus far. It’s okay for her to be knocked out of the center of the panel for a little bit so long as she’s the central focus of her own series for the final issue. The Howards DO seem to be moving things in that direction for the close of the series.

Melnikov and Guerrero do a nice job of moving the action around on the page. It’s quite a challenge to keep a solid focus on the action in a fight scene involving superpowers, gunplay, and a ventriloquist’s dummy firing a semi-automatic. Melnikov does a solidly respectable job of keeping the earthbound crime feeling of the series intact in an issue that also features weird superhero-style action and a massive humanoid creature modeled after a black Ace of Diamonds that can transform its arm into a giant razor-sharp playing card that can eviscerate a grown man in a single swipe. Melnikov and Guerrero have their hands full just making it look anything other than silly. They do a pretty good job of it, too.

Everything seems to be coming full circle for Punchline as the series approaches its sixth issue. It’s been an interesting journey, but there hasn’t been nearly as much time with the title character as might be needed to create a truly captivating face to add to the overcrowded population of psychos that wander the rainy nights of Gotham City. The Howards are solidly good writers, though. They seem to be heading into a final issue that could really pull everything together at the end.

Grade: C+