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Twilight Zone, The - Shadow And Substance #4
Released by: Dynamite Entertainment
Released on: April 29th, 2015.
Written by: Mark Rahner
Art by: Edu Menna
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This issue, part two (and the conclusion) of the story "Jailbreak" is another winner. Last issue saw writer Mark Rahner teasing out a strange tale centered around astronaut/prisoner Lee who awakes to find himself on a bizarre prison planet where his fellow inmates suffer from various daily indignities. Every once in a while people are whisked away in a blinding light and returned later temporarily traumatized. Food balls - resembling ugly coconuts - are tossed at them and the residents have access to a strange gizmo that will make anything the asker asks for appear - barring something that can aid an escape or harm another inmate (or oneself).
There's a minimalist spirit to this setup. Lee makes it quite clear he isn't going to be submissive in his new environment and his interactions with other people are terse. It's impossible to tell more about the plot without giving away the story's big "reveal" but suffice to say it's a good one. Rahner carefully sets this baby up and then drops the twist ending bomb. In fact, the whole vibe of this conclusion is almost textbook vintage TZ: drop some hints, toss in a little misdirection and blammo - surprise the audience with the truth at the end. Well played.
Menna's illustrations and Ribiero's coloring are as strong as the first installment. Everything looks just a little "off" - and I love the almost EC comics touch with lots of dripping sweaty faces. The sickly greenish hue (with occasional bursts of flame orange) that dominates the palette here is perfect.
This is a strong finish to a story that got out of the gate a bit slowly in part one. Everything here is up to the usual high Dynamite standard that we've consistently seen in their Twilight Zone lines. And this one hews closely the spirit of the original television show which is nice.
Highly recommended.
