Soule has a big cliffhanger at the end and a bunch of little ones throughout. He lets his subplots thread out even further and some of these threads practically establish them as their own plot lines. For instance, who would have thought the previous President ever would have been such a big character?
I think I said before Letter 44 would be just as interesting without the aliens and the science fiction aspect–the MacGuffin–because the way Soule plays things on Earth are just phenomenal. He’s adding layer after layer to the characters and their relationships and flushing readers’ expectations of where the story might go.
As for the sci-fi element, Soule initially seems to be rushing things this issue but then it does turn out he has a plan. He wants to have two big cliffhangers and an even bigger final one.
Letter 44 is an aggravatingly compelling comic book.
B+
CREDITS
Writer, Charles Soule; penciller, Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque; colorist, Dan Jackson; letterer, Crank!; editor, Robin Herrera; publisher, Oni Press.