The Forevers #3
The Forevers #3
Writer: Curt Pires
Artist: Eric Scott Pfeiffer
Letters: Colin Bell
Additional Letters & Design: Ryan Ferrier
Publisher: Black Mask
Peppered with variations on both Pires’ thoughtful prose and stiff, rigid, beautiful poetry, The Forevers #3 deepens our connections to this cast of famous-but-down-trodden characters while putting their lives simultaneously in the crosshairs.
Structured much like the previous two issues, the writing being the stronger of elements at play, this third offering presents events – namely the life and death of Zachariah Cole – in a carefully disassembled way. A collage almost, of emotional tableaux over the course of our main character’s (I hesitate to call them heroes) lives. Pires is riding a fine line between investing time and effort into characters and allowing them to feel expendable, heightening the ever-present danger they find themselves in. It’s a delicate balance, one that I wasn’t sold on earlier in the series’ run to be honest, but feels more at home as we flesh out the character’s connections to each other more, something that feels natural and more earned than previously here.
Our Yeezy-clad assassin is out there somewhere. The more the series works to heighten my caring about the characters, even the rough Jamie, through emotional, smart vignettes of existential crises and the day-to-day in equal measure, the more I fear that Death-Stranding-channeled “I’ll keep coming” scene from issue two actually coming.
The artistic outing is, sadly, less effective. I particularly like the palettes Pfeiffer works with here, a kind of dark and dingy neon-washed alternative universe is brought to life. However, the characters themselves oftentimes feel less alive in that world. They’re frequently expressionless, and their choreography leaves something to be desired. A little more detail would help, but isn’t offered here.
Ultimately then, it’s a mixed bag of an issue. Pires is as good as ever, one of the best writers writing right now to be frank and accompanied by wonderful design at the book’s beginning and end, the issue continues down the series established direction in a satisfactory way. Unfortunately, the art doesn’t hit the same highs here, not a massive detraction but noticeable.
The Forevers remains a careful balance of elements, this third issue a contemplative, robust and emotionally complex, original and wonderfully referential issue – mixing elements of the real and the fiction in a worthwhile way. There’s room for improvement, but the issue stands strong and I’m more than ready to watch the Forevers, their magic given lives at risk, perhaps not live up to the moniker in more issues to come.
Writer: Curt Pires
Artist: Eric Scott Pfeiffer
Letters: Colin Bell
Additional Letters & Design: Ryan Ferrier
Publisher: Black Mask
Peppered with variations on both Pires’ thoughtful prose and stiff, rigid, beautiful poetry, The Forevers #3 deepens our connections to this cast of famous-but-down-trodden characters while putting their lives simultaneously in the crosshairs.
Structured much like the previous two issues, the writing being the stronger of elements at play, this third offering presents events – namely the life and death of Zachariah Cole – in a carefully disassembled way. A collage almost, of emotional tableaux over the course of our main character’s (I hesitate to call them heroes) lives. Pires is riding a fine line between investing time and effort into characters and allowing them to feel expendable, heightening the ever-present danger they find themselves in. It’s a delicate balance, one that I wasn’t sold on earlier in the series’ run to be honest, but feels more at home as we flesh out the character’s connections to each other more, something that feels natural and more earned than previously here.
Our Yeezy-clad assassin is out there somewhere. The more the series works to heighten my caring about the characters, even the rough Jamie, through emotional, smart vignettes of existential crises and the day-to-day in equal measure, the more I fear that Death-Stranding-channeled “I’ll keep coming” scene from issue two actually coming.
The artistic outing is, sadly, less effective. I particularly like the palettes Pfeiffer works with here, a kind of dark and dingy neon-washed alternative universe is brought to life. However, the characters themselves oftentimes feel less alive in that world. They’re frequently expressionless, and their choreography leaves something to be desired. A little more detail would help, but isn’t offered here.
Ultimately then, it’s a mixed bag of an issue. Pires is as good as ever, one of the best writers writing right now to be frank and accompanied by wonderful design at the book’s beginning and end, the issue continues down the series established direction in a satisfactory way. Unfortunately, the art doesn’t hit the same highs here, not a massive detraction but noticeable.
The Forevers remains a careful balance of elements, this third issue a contemplative, robust and emotionally complex, original and wonderfully referential issue – mixing elements of the real and the fiction in a worthwhile way. There’s room for improvement, but the issue stands strong and I’m more than ready to watch the Forevers, their magic given lives at risk, perhaps not live up to the moniker in more issues to come.
A Look Inside
