By Paul Cornell, Tony Parker, Lovern Kindzierski, Micheal Heisler
I had a dream that I read this issue last month and the band got eaten by demons. I was actually pretty close, the band gets eaten by a giant demon and then meets a smaller version of him that deals out punishments for eternal damnation.
It’s been a tumultuous adventure for MotherFather on their final tour. Paul Cornell wraps it up as only his mind could with a concert that ends on a demonic sacrifice. As it turns out, Clive had been planning this from the beginning so he could jump-start his solo career post-MotherFather. Browley, for his part, turns the tables and convinces the demon that Clive shorted him and signs his fellow bandmates out of hell. The rest of the story ends sort of abruptly without much explained behind the main story conclusion.
On the art side, this could be the best issue of This Damned Band by Tony Parker. He switches up his style between Japanese painting, 70s psychedelic and classic cartooning. I could cut out pages of this book, blow them up and hang them on my wall they’re so good. The fact that Parker can switch between these styles, making them cohesive as well as distinct is a credit to his skill as an artist. Of course, credit is due to Lovern Kindzierski who uses deep reds and bright yellows to enhance Parker’s pencils and inks. Kindzierski’s colors give the art a demension all its own.
Overall, not entirely a strong finish for this miniseries. Like an actual concert, it seems like Cornell came out rocking but by the end was too tired and wanted off the stage. The art almost compensates for this with beautiful illustrations for the horrific events and making the story more grand then it really is. Maybe Cornell intended for his script to take a backseat for the art, trusting Parker and Kinzierski to do the heavy-lifting of making the story come to life. However, the resolution of Clive’s betrayal, the camera crew documenting the events, the missing wives and girlfriends, all feel like afterthoughts to a giant demon interrupting a rock concert. It entertains in a basic sense. It’s not a terrible ending but does feel like wasted potential.
Rating: Poor, Fair, Good, Great, Excellent
Disclosure: Publisher Dark Horse Comics provided an advance review copy of this comic to Nothing But Comics without any payment between the site or publisher or agreement on the review’s content.
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