Maskerade #6 // Review
Felicia has been hit with a bullet and more. The helmet that she’s wearing and the masking compound should keep her from feeling the pain, but there’s the small matter of a concussion...and the fact that her mind is spiking. The EEG is reading like she’s schizophrenic. She’s barely coherent, but things are about to get worse in Maskerade #6. The writing team of Kevin Smith and Andy McElfresh continues a story that is rendered into the visual by artist Giulia Gualazzi and colorist Giulia Brusco. The sharp mix of action, techno-horror, and mystery splice themselves together quite capably in a satisfying chapter in the series.
They’ve taken her to the kitchen for the operation. There’s a substance that’s shattered the last 20 years of Felicia’s life. Now, it’s the only thing that can save it. She’s dying, but there’s still a chance that she might pull through. She’s been a survivor her whole life. There’s an explanation somewhere in her past. She was a child when they did experiments on her. She went through hell. Before things can end, she’s going to have to put a lot of other people through hell. Felicia is prepared to do what others can’t. They might have to try to stop her...
Smith and McElfresh’s full rendering of the mad science in the backstory doesn’t necessarily do a whole lot to round out the series in issue #6, but it DOES provide a bit of additional moody background to the anti-hero. She’s an interesting enough character. What she’s planning on doing this issue is horrific, but the backstory allows for a deeper understanding of the events that led her to be who she is. It’s character-driven horror that leans a bit more on the emotionally dramatic end of the mad science than most superhuman medical horror stories do.
The sixth issue of the series develops the dramatic end of the story, which will lead to further action later on in the series. The drama that Gualazzi is committing to the page feels generally well-composed and competently laid out. The inhuman nature of Maskerade with her big, emotionless helmet adds to a cold sense of sociopathy on her part that is contrasted against the tale of her childhood origin story. The emotions that Gualazzi is drawing on are amplified and given additional atmospheric texture by Brusco’s colors.
As of the sixth issue, Maskerade is a more satisfying emotional journey than most superhuman medical horror manages. The basic premise might not have a whole lot to offer in the way of anything new, but the emotional end of the characters comes across quite vividly in a darkly enjoyable lead-up to the big climactic conclusion that will hit at the end of the summer. Smith and McElfresh are heading towards what feels very much like a climax in the next issue. The writers have done a good job of delivering the story so far. It’ll be interesting to see how the pacing develops for the last two issues of the series.
