Masks What Was Once Good
Don't get me wrong, this is by no means a bad book... And yet, there are so much that has been making this series meh as of late. I don't know whether to blame it on this storyline or the pacing or what, but ever since issue 4, there hadn't been much consistency here.
This issue in particular shows that. There are some really silly moments with the aliens, while also being rather uplifting, yet the rest of it feels drenched in a seriousness that this story isn't made for. There's some plot that, as the cover suggests, invokes the Yancy Gang, but it all feels either overly serious or overly smug, never settling on the pleasant, light time that initially drew me to it.
Also, beyond the bookends, the issue had little to do with the overall plot, similar to the last issue. While, in issue four, it worked well, here, the minor plot feels a little forced to push characters along and doesn't have the same charm; the Yancy Gang is uninteresting to read, feeling as flat as their masks, resulting in the other characters feeling similarly boring, dare I say it.
Plus, we've got a new artist here, and, though his art doesn't stay far from the source material, the characters' faces and expressions look decidedly different, drawing me out of the experience often and easily.
Hopefully, with the return of the series' artist and the end of this plot, we'll be able to get back to what made this series worth reading.
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