Comic Review - North 40 #4, 5, & 6

North 40

The conclusion to the 6-issue comic series by Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples is upon us. Unfortunately, North 40 draws to a close a bit prematurely, taking with it a legendary story that doesn't quite wrap up as neatly as one would hope from the exciting opening three issues.

Still present is the ferocity of Staples' artwork; the violence she releases on the page is chaotic, mimicking the plot penned by Williams. Also retained is the fast-paced clip, with Williams practically dragging the reader from page to page as he works his way through fight after fight of monster carnage. Williams combines characters well; we have a main character to root for, but there's a smattering of secondary characters who have their own grand detailing as well.

There's also a general feeling that Williams is taking us on a breathless ride on North 40 that seems to have no ending. Where it stops, only Williams and Staples know, at least until we get to the last panel of issue 6. It's a thrilling feeling, but it's also a bit misleading: there comes a point when the reader feels as though the conflicts that are presented in each issue will have only minor resolutions. They're made to feel bigger than they really become. In a way, it's messing with our expectations, which constantly redirects us when we find what we initially thought would happen is now not the case. Yet it also becomes frustrating - sometimes I want to know exactly what happened!

This dilemma becomes a bigger problem toward the end of the series. Williams is sometimes rushing too fast, never letting the reader explore the new, dangerous world of North 40. I wanted to spend more time; I can feel story arcs just waiting to jump out of North 40's short run, but they're not given any time to develop. Even the backstory to the plot is concluded so quickly that it's hard to get a grip on the events.

While North 40 cannot be deemed anything but a manic success, the wrap-up comes at the expense of dropping all of the interesting ideas that could have come out of the world. Instead of the rush to the finish line, I would have loved to stay in the comic for a while - there's so much to see that the 6-issue series almost acts as a brief overview of a longer story. Don't let my disappointments in the finale dissuade you from reading, though. Chalk it up to high expectations. The ending does leave thoughts of a sequel; I'd sure as hell love to see that happen.