Monday 8 November 2021

Number 91 - Pretty Deadly Vol 3 - The Rat


 Volume 3 of this series sees another time jump.  this time it's set in Hollywoodland in the 30s.

One of the descendants of the lead character from volume 1 has been murdered and her uncle enlists the help of  Deathface Ginny to solve the murder.

each of these three volumes has been radically different from the others. From the weird western vibe of volume 1 - to the war story of volume 2, her we have a film noir vibe that is perfectly captured in Emma Rios's continued beautifully rendered artwork.

Rios needs as much credit for her artwork and layouts as Kelly Sue Deconnick does for the writing. Their talents meld amazingly well.  These are not comics to be quickly skimmed.  These are filled with resonances and deeper meaning. They need to be savoured. There are pages where you can forget about the story for a moment and just appreciate the artwork.  

This series is easily on a par with Sandman. Any story that can encompass the range of time periods and moods as this has so successfully is special indeed. The fact that they both feature a female Death character is probably just coincidence. 

This is the end of the Pretty Deadly series for now, and it's a great ending,  but there are story strands left open which I would love to see continued.  Hopefully there will be another story arc to come. 

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