The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh #3 (of 4) (Boom! – Waid / Oosterveer)
Catherine’s terminal condition reaches the point of no return, but she’s determined to solve the mystery of Death if it’s the last thing she does. And chances are it will be. Mark Waid’s tale of mystery and the macabre speeds towards a stunning climax!
Mark Waid goes to town in this supernatural mystery where the main character is very much a Lara Croft with Batman’s detective skill, Adrian Monk’s eye for detail and Hercule Poirot’s flare for the dramatic. This second series is as enjoyable as the first, and it carries both the strengths and weaknesses that made the first series a landmark.
Catherine unravels the link behind all of the deaths and their link to the town of Mountain Oak. Unfortunately the undeniable logical solution makes her question her own sanity.
Mark Waid has perfect pacing here as he lays out the mystery before the protagonist (and the reader). Straight out a fantastic sci-fi / supernatural story! The problem is, that the reader who was absorbing this as a mystery couldn’t possibly have had a chance at solving it. And that is a tad frustrating. And the solution is a bit left field… it involves an age old struggle and reincarnation that crosses the space / time constraints. It is exactly the same thing I felt in the last series when all of the sudden Catherine found the door to the afterlife (or possibly when you found out Baltar’s number six was really an angel). Sort of a… what a minute, really? that’s the answer? But after the initial shock of the bizarre plot twist settled down, I went back to recognizing and admiring how well the story had been laid out.
And Minck Oosterveer continues to be one my favorite artists that I don’t see a lot of at all. His art is defined by the phrase “beautifully haunting”. If you aren’t catching this in issues, this will be a fantastic trade.
Issue Grade: A
