Bin Fodder: Crimson – Finale

The final eleven issues of Crimson are designed as the conclusion of all that has come before and encompass one massive arc; basically the last year of comics was them handling their business and so that is why (unlike previous installments which were doing smaller amounts of issues that comprised individual store arcs).

 

To that end, let me say, it is clear that Augustyn and Ramos had a lot more story to tell, the final issue spends several pages at the end summing up what would have been the next story (which involved the Holy Grail).

 

As Crimson entered its final arc many things were brought to light, some of which I will detail in this article, some I will leave for you to discover on your own as you (hopefully) read the book.

Lisseth, mother of all vampires, has her desire for death and destruction come to a disastrous, if short lived, pinnacle.  She, teaming with the Dragons, seeks to end all of reality.  Through her unnatural powers she manages to close the gateway to heaven and hell (how this is managed, however, is never explained) and through doing attempts to set herself up as only deity.  Lisseth, though ageless and eternal, fails to account for the undying human spirit and will.

Alex Elder, our intrepid hero, is pushed, pulled, prodded, judged and all around mistreated throughout this final arc but in the end finds his “calling” as the Chosen One.  This, though, seems to come through not as any great epiphany but rather a cause an effect of the situation at hand.  It was somewhat of a crappy pay off for something that so much was made of throughout the series.  It’s like in a horror movie when the guy you suspect the WHOLE TIME because everything points to him as the killer turns out to be the killer.  Unsatisfying, to say the least.

Ekimus, it turns out, was truly the only friend Lucifer ever had and after they lost the war against Heaven set out to find peace amount humankind; through with war and all its evils.  What he found, instead, was humanity fearful of his difference.  They cast him out and he found comfort in Lisseth.  It’s not explained why she was an outcast…as she wasn’t even a Vampire until she drank Ekimus’ eternal blood.  Yet another part of the story omitted.

 

The ancillary characters, such as Scarlet X and Joe and Zophiel the fallen Angel, have parts to play in this final arc and side stories which dominate portions of various issues, but none of them really add or detract from the whole.  They seem, in retrospect, to be almost filler or merely a way to justify having certain things occur in the future and not appear as out of place.

 

Overall Crimson earns a solid B from this reviewer.  The story definitely has holes and if you are easily annoyed or offended by heavy references to religion then this may not be the book for you.  But the art is outstanding and the characters, though needing work, were at the very least interesting.

 

Next week I tackle a more contemporary book…check back to see what I have in store for you!

 

If you have suggestions for future Bin Fodder reviews, drop me a line in comments!  Or e-mail me at [email protected].

 

Till next Wednesday…

 

This is your Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off.

 

Check me out on Twitter @tim_thewriter

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