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Rat God #5
Released by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: June 3rd, 2105.
Written And Illustrated by: Richard Corben
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Picking up where the first four issues left off, the final issue of Richard Corben's Rat God brings everything full circle. Clark Elwood is in the strange and ancient town of Lame Dog for one purpose and one purpose only - to rescue Kito, the woman he loves. Caught red handed at the masquerade party, Clark is in trouble, in fact he's about to be executed. He's bound and dragged down into a burial chamber where the 'rodent lord' of the town will be hungry for a snack. Damon is tied up and about to be sacrificed along with Clark, at the hands of his own father. Things do not look good.
The two men are left in their cell to await the inevitable arrival of the Rat God, and soon enough, it arrives, just as hungry as their captors promised it would be. Clark watches as Damon is eaten alive, but is freed by an accomplice before he meets the same fate. He's rushed to an escape passage and urged to find Kito, but it won't be easy. The townsfolk and the Rat God itself are lurking nearby. He finds her, but will they make it out alive?
Of course, we won't spoil the big finish here and there's quite a bit more to it than just Clark and Kito trying to escape Lame Dog.
A classic tale of dark gods and monsters told with the flamboyant style you'd expect from Corben at his best, Rat God comes to an impressive and unpredictable conclusion in this last chapter. By giving the story a period setting and working in elements of classic pulp style adventure stories, Corben gives us more than just blood and guts. Here he crafts a story firmly rooted in elements of both Lovecraft and Howard, and it works remarkably well. Not only that, but it suits his artistic style perfectly. Corben's anatomy tends to be exaggerated more often than not but in this world, where anything can and will happen, it never feels out of place.
Fans of Corben's underground work and his work for the classic Warren magazines like Creepy and Eerie ought to eat this stuff right up. It fits in perfectly with a lot of that material. It's got an edge to it, never taking things so far as to feel inappropriate for the story but it definitely keeps things suspenseful. You know certain characters are probably going to die, as there's a certain inevitability to these things, but exactly how and for what reasons? You probably won't see that coming.
This series has been great right from the first issue. Corben kept the quality of the artwork up to his typically high standards and gave us a story every bit its equal. Here's hoping we see more projects like this from Corben and Dark Horse (who seem to treat the man right) in the not too distant future.
