A small step backwards from the high of the previous issue, but a great comic, nonetheless.
Writer | Skottie Young |
Illustrator | Jorge Corona |
Colorist | Jean-Francois Beaulieu |
Content Rating | Mature Readers |
Publisher | Image | 08.07.24 |
Spoilers Ahead
It really bums me out to say that issue four of Ain't No Grave left me wanting. After the splendor of issue #3, I was greatly looking forward to what Skottie Young and Jorge Carona had in store for this, the penultimate issue of the series. Instead, it's a virtually dialogue-free comic (save for one line at the end) that relies a little too much on Corona to convey the story. While the comic still looks stunning, the execution left me slightly confused. After a couple of rereads I think I have a better grasp of what happened in the issue, but with only five chapters to tell this story, I don't know that this type of silent comic was a fit for the series.
The story opens with Ryder following the beatdown she received from Madame Gates' goons on Her Blind Majesty. After swimming to shore, Ryder came upon a mysterious house overlooking the water. In this issue, she goes exploring what seems to be a town surrounding it. Up until now, every installment of Ain't No Grave has been intriguing as Young revealed little bits and pieces of the world and Ryder's story. This issue tries to do more of that, but without any words. The result is that I spent the bulk of my time guessing at what was happening and don't totally know if I understood what I just read.
Let me try to break this down based on what I took away from the issue. Ryder winds up in a bar near the house over the water. She starts drinking, when suddenly she's either drunk or just starts to reminisce about when she found out she was terminally ill. In her anger, she destroys the table in front of her, which seems to be paralleled in the world of the present, as well. Pulled out of her reminiscences, she is drawn to the sound of music nearby. She discovers a man/creature playing guitar and a young girl singing. Both are in distress—the guitarist's fingers are bleeding, while the girl is sobbing uncontrollably as she sings.
It's here that my confusion started to set in. It seems like Ryder's presence breaks them of whatever spell they're under, as the duo stops performing and stare at her. As Ryder moves forward to interact with them, specifically the girl, the room they're inside of caves in. Ryder is crushed and buried by debris, reaching out towards the girl, unable to get close. As this is happening, it's juxtaposed with another flashback, seemingly Ryder preparing to leave her family to go on her journey to kill Death. As she remembers that day, Ryder comes to realize that she's actually buried alive and begins to claw her way out and to the surface.
It's a powerful sequence, with the imagery of red, bloody cracks or veins emanating from the coffin into the dirt creating a striking image. I got the sense that the singing girl reminded Ryder of her daughter, Joey, and there was the impression that the girl was looking at Ryder with a sense of recognition or interest. It's hard to say, because the story doesn't, but that was my interpretation. When Ryder emerges from the soil, what looks like a gravedigger is waiting for her, pointing towards her next destination deeper into the graveyard. Ryder meets a rotund figure wrapped in layers of clothing who takes her marker, a playing card with a bullet hole in it, and sends her along to her target: Death, who says hello to Ryder as the issue comes to a close.
I struggled with writing this review, as originally I skewed more negative, but subsequent rereads have given me greater clarity. Still, I remain unsure about some of the plot, which leaves me unsatisfied. Again, this isn't a long series—with one issue to go, there are not a lot of pages left to flesh out what is happening to Ryder. I would have liked to get just a bit more insight into what this sequence meant. Regardless, Corona is such a masterful storyteller that even without Young's dialogue to lean on, I got arguably 90% of what I was supposed to from the story. Now, the wait comes for the final chapter, one that I'm going to relish reading when it hits comic book shops.
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