Image Comics reviews 8/7/24 – Scarlett #3, Free Agents #2

Ain’t No Grave #4

For Ain’t No Grave’s penultimate issue, writer Skottie Young opted for a non-traditional approach. The issue only features two words of dialogue and it’s not until the very final page. That makes for an easy day at the office for letterer Nate Piekos, who doesn’t even have to incorporate any sound effects. It does put more of the burden on artist Jorge Corona and colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu.

They’re up to the challenge as the art on ANG has been tremendous every issue. Corona has established a bizarre yet memorable backdrop for Ryder’s quest to save her life. Whether it’s with big flowing costumes, creepy looking character designs or just the overall flow of Ryder’s movements, the art has been stunning.

Going the silent issue route is kind of a fun gimmick in the sense of a old throwback Western film and Corona is able to mostly tell the story to a large extent dialogue-free.

Still, it would have been nice for Young to work in some form of storytelling whether through signs or even letters Ryder reads along the way.

Beaulieu’s rich colors saturate the panels conveying the tone and mood of moments, including what might be a flashback sequence? Or merely a hallucination? Given the no rules nature of Ryder’s trip through Cypress on her way to confront Death it would have been nice if Young could have made this clearer.

This was a beautifully drawn issue, but just a bit more story would have been helpful in setting the stage for Ryder and Death’s face-off.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10