Loveless # 24
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Danjiel Zezelj
Published by DC Comics
It's been a long, relaxing holiday weekend. For me, this weekend included reading the final issue of Loveless. I saw it as a challenge, of sorts. Not so much for me, as a challenge to comic books. Can I, novice comic book reader that I am, pick up the final issue of something and find it enjoyable, amusing, entertaining and/or interesting in the slightest.
Well, the answer is yes….in the slightest, anyhow.
I mean, it came across a little strange at first. I noticed that the dialog seemed, to me, to be like the old dialect of the south. Particularly, the way I've seen/read slaves of the time speak. Yet, at some point in the story the characters refer to "back in the eighties," so I assumed we were actually in present day, just in some backasswards area of the US. The final page of the comic states that its 1906. So, I was like, "wait…are we flashing back and getting a to-be-continued? No. It's the last issue. So….oh, they must have been talking about the 1880s, not the 1980s."
So, there was that confusion for me.
Also, seriously, I thought the main character was black. I seriously did. The coloring was so dark, in general, and then the accent. It wasn't until he was explaining to the whore about coming over on the boat…and then I went back and re-read some things like "fook meself" and "soljah" and realized that I'd had the accent all wrong in my head, all along.
So, again, that was disorienting.
As a story….interesting. I mean, this main character is a scary dude. Look, I felt intimidated just by the way he was drawn. And then his whole essence is just scary. He's been locked up for over half of his life, and as soon as he gets out all he can think about is revenge?! I mean, I understand it, sure. The whole reason he's in jail is because of some guy he supposedly killed, who's not dead. Sure. I'd be pissed. But the idea of having had that anger just eat you alive for so many years, to such and extent that you walk out of jail ready to kill – oy. Oy, I say!
It was definitely intriguing. It makes me wonder how this ties into the rest of the series. And it does make me want to know what exactly happened in the past. Who is the guy who's supposed to be dead, and why is he supposed to be dead? I mean, you almost feel for our main character's innocence, except for the fact that although he may have been unjustly accused, he seems completely capable of murderous rage….so, like, did he attempt to kill some guy and it didn't go according to plan? What's the deal here?
And I sort of wonder from the last page when it points out that we're in 1906…is where the series actually started? Or is this way in the future? How does this story fit in with the overall arc of the series?
But you know what? I'll never know. Because, honestly, I'm not going to spend my economic stimulus package on the back issues of Loveless. I'm going to buy clothes and shoes. Its finally summer, dammit, I feel the need to look cute and feel summery more than I feel the need for closure on this story. Sorry Azzarello and Zezelj. I'll catch up with you on some other series. Toodles.
-Nina Stone, 2008
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