Godshaper comes to its finish. There’s some good art from Goonface, but he literally doesn’t have room again. The concert hall is too small for the giant gods and the pages are too small for all Ennay is supposed to be doing. But there’s some good art and some nice feels to the issue.
Those nice feels, courtesy Spurrier’s shiny happy ending, are in the place of any actual finish to the comic. Spurrier spins things up and drops them in new places. He leverages a lot on the likability of the cast–a whole lot, more as the comic goes on–without doing anything for them. It just wraps up.
Godshaper peaked early, so it didn’t exactly waste potential, but it’s a shame it didn’t work out. Spurrier probably should’ve decided on the narrative tone before the last issue.
Godshaper comes to its finish. There’s some good art from Goonface, but he literally doesn’t have room again. The concert hall is too small for the giant gods and the pages are too small for all Ennay is supposed to be doing. But there’s some good art and some nice feels to the issue.
Well. Spurrier sure does get literal in his metaphors this issue. Like, way too literal for Godshaper to have any magic. There are a handful of other reasons why it doesn’t have any magic this issue, like the cheap terrorizing of a little kid and the passive Ennay. He’s not much of a protagonist anymore. Spurrier’s got some ideas, Goonface has some art, but Spurrier hasn’t got the script to keep Godshaper together. I’m invested enough to read the finale, but I’ve got no hopes for it (past anticipating a strong competence).
It’s a downer of an issue. Spurrier sort of hints at it in dialogue, but then it gets violent and even more depressing. Godshaper is a six issue series, after all, and Spurrier’s got to get things in place for the finale. This issue certainly gets things in order for revealations and dramatic twists; though most of it takes place in a nightclub. Ennay is performing, then musing despondently on life, then it’s time for the action. Goonface does better on the performing and musing than the action–the action’s just too big in too few pages, in too confined a space. But it’s a success. The issue’s a complete bummer.
I wish it didn’t, but Godshaper now feels like a six issue limited. This issue ends with a cliffhanger setting up big revelations and big events. Spurrier hints at what the reveal might involve and it’s a lot of stuff. It’s not bad stuff, it’s interesting stuff, it’s just a lot of stuff. And the series only has three more issues and about half this issue washing its hands with the idea of character development. Spurrier totally changes the pace. It’s still well-written and Goonface’s art is a lot of fun–though he gets overwhelmed–but the reading experience of Godshaper has changed. Fingers crossed it’s worth it.
Beautiful pacing on this one. Not just Spurrier, but Goonface too. They draw Godshaper out, letting the characters sort of swell with development. Occasionally, they’ll turn the valve for some release on it but otherwise Spurrier is too busy exploring the setting. There’s plot material, sure, but it’s first runner-up. Setting, characters, plot. Goonface makes sure to keep the characters present enough, whether it’s setting stuff or plot stuff. The first issue was good, but this one raises the book’s potential big time.