And That Was That
It was an amazing perspective to have on the “spectacle” - As London is burning, being destroyed by the “Egyptian” Monoliths, all the heroes of the city attempt to fight and save the innocent people caught in the grasp of its destruction - and then there is The Shade… watching, waiting, calculating what it is going to take to end the madness. Knowing full well he is the only solution to the problem sprung by his kin.
If he thought he had to muster all of his power in the days leading up to this battle, he would have to multiply that immeasurably now. The scale of this foe is almost too big to imagine. All this, and he quips, “Tsk. I hate this sort of nonsense.” - Excellent. I just love his attitude. And I love his forethought and planning - if you were watching closely in Issue #9, you may catch how he was able to gain an edge in this fight…
The biggest problem I have with this issue, is not with the story or the art - it is with the VERY DISRUPTIVE advertisements. Every page turn there is another advertisement ARGH. This is one of the quintessential battle of the maxi-series and it is riddled with unexpected sneaker solicits.
That is not why this issue didn’t receive a perfect rating from me, though. It was how the resolution of the battle and the ensuing conclusion to the main story line ended - rather abruptly, almost hastened? I was not expecting it.
“And that was that?”
“Yes. Can you believe it?”
No, not really, but then again, I am not sure what I would have expected, or liked more. Something this big, cosmic even, is extremely difficult to portray in words and in illustration.
All in all, in the end, reflecting back, it was a fantastic story, great battle, great use of and execution of forethought, everything - I especially loved how quaint the origin story of the “Egyptian” Monoliths was - a nice twist, really.
The last page ends nearly a year of storytelling for The Shade, and sets up his final story for the maxi-series, his origin. Now this, this is what we have been waiting for!