Image Comics reviews 9/2/26 – MASK 4, Rook Exodus 11

MASK 4

MASK 4 finds Matt Trakker linking up with another ally as Miles Mayhem sets up the next level of his master plan.

Trakker travels to New Orleans to respond to the call from Dusty Baker. Baker’s face is scarred and somewhat mangled although artist Marco Ferrari — filling in for artist Pye Parr — doesn’t tend to draw other characters with smooth and clean faces to the point it’s clear how badly damaged Dusty’s face is from his earlier interaction with Trakker.

Writer Dan Watters states in the MASK 4 letter column that he didn’t want the dynamics to be as rosy as the 80s cartoon, but it seems like there’s a better way to work in tension than having all of the MASK members cursing him out every issue. Ironically, it feels like the VENOM agents respect Miles Mayhem far more than the MASK team respects Trakker.

It’s probably time for Watters to explain why the MASK team would actually follow and listen to a guy they clearly seemed so irritated being around. Dusty keeps that trend going in MASK 4 as he constantly seems annoyed with Trakker’s decision making when it comes to stopping an innocent man armed with a destructive mask. There’s a fun Easter Egg with that payoff that hopefully will develop into more than a random guest appearance.

Ferrari doesn’t add the most elaborate backdrops, but there is a solid sense of movement from the characters and a palatable sense of tension as the limited action plays out. MASK 4 isn’t as action packed as the previous two issues, but there is some decent character work.

Colorist Pierluigi Casolino doesn’t utilize as bright a color palette as he’s done in earlier issues, but the muted shades fit with the nighttime sequence. Letterer Rus Wooton leans into Ferrari’s strengths with some even more creative and energetic sound effect placements than usual.

There’s an ominous cliffhanger at the end of MASK 4 as Miles Mayhem starts making more personal moves to ensure Trakker and his crew won’t stop him that suggests next issue should be very interesting.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

After reading MASK 4, pre-order the first MASK trade paperback on Amazon.

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