Rat City #12 // Review
He said that he’d never wanted to kill again, but the suit he’s wearing makes this a bit. difficult. The sit he’s wearing is keyed- into his most basic instincts. What could be more basic than the need for survival? Naturally it’s going to make him kill if that means that hes going to have a chance to avoid death himself. This is the least of his worries in Rat City #12. Writer/ letter artist Erica Schultz continues her sci-fi trip through the Spawn Universe with artist Zé Carlos and colorist Jay David Ramos. Traditional superhero action flows across the page in another satisfying issue.
Ammon was carrying Peter back to Doctor Boze when the armor activated. Naturally it’s going to want to try to survivand it’s going to want to make him survive as well. Naturally this is going to be a bit of a problem as things progress. Very powerful forces are very hostile and things could get ugly in a hurry. So maybe the armor helps Peter break away from Ammon, but that doesn’t mean that he’s in good shape. He IS after all...going right back to Boze anyway. Generally you break free from forcible detention and you get AWAY from that which wanted you imprisoned. Peter has other ideas.
Schultz is sliding the narrative around in different directions...opening with a flashback and then moving the narrative along in the direction of the now as the heavy hitting of an overwhelming action sequence pounds percussively int othe page. There IS a bit of drama aroudn the edges of everything as it all moves forward, but it’s kind of weird to see it move the way it does as she’s trying to get the dramatic ground from the action into the narrative as the action is going on. Things get a bit concussive as drama and action collides in a largely satisfying outing with Schultz and company.
Carlos directs the action across the page with sharp precision that pays homage to the artist who have been working in the Spawn Universe for a very, very long time. It’s a bit difficult to do so in a way that. feels cyberpunk enough to deliver its own visual signature on the page. It’s soldly exciting enough...particularly with the effects added for extra depth, atmosphere and impact by Ramos’ colors. It’s a very impressive series of mments that are playing across the page even if it doesn’t seem to be adding-up to a whole lot at the moment.
It’s quite an ending to the issue. It’s a striking contrast to everything that led-up to it. Schultz manages one of the more interesting types of cliffhangers by suddenly thrusting everything into a sharp sense of mystery that feels like quite an immersive whiplash given all that’s been going on in the series thus far. It’ll be interesting seeing where Schultz and company take the narrative next. There’s a lot of interesting potential given the ending of the current issue.
