REVIEW: Faith #12: The Faithless: Finale

Faith has been captured by the group that has been ripping apart not only her superhero life but also her professional life, the villainous team known as “The Faithless”. In the previousÂ issues, they have ruined her name and framed her for murder. How will she escape them and return her life to normal?

This is an outstanding finale to the “Faithless” storyline. The way Faith dealsÂ with the villains is brilliant. It may not be the action-packed slugfest expected of many books in this genre, but it is certainly fun to read. Her banter with the Faithless gave way for some genuine laugh out loud moments and I love how she tries to play them against each other. If you haven’t been following this storyline or are new to this title, the book does a great job of catching you up on who the villains are and how Faith got to this point. It does this through both her inner monolog and a great introduction page. My only qualm with the issue is that it never feels like Faith is in any real peril. I think this is intentional. She is shown to be so calm and in control, which is great, but I would have appreciated more of an undercurrent of tangible danger. Previous issues have been more effective in this regard and had ramped up the danger level.

Faith continues to be a fantastic title. It’s different to most books being released these days in a beautiful way. Readers who appreciate smart, witty books should be following this title. The dialogue is natural and the book is filled with lovely comic book references that are spot on and enhance the issue but are not overdone to the point of being grating.

The art is outstanding overall. Faith is drawn to be so emotive and charming. I don’t think she has the same facial expression twice in the book. You know exactly what she is feeling through the expressive art and it helps to avoid excessive dialogue. My only criticism of the art is that the proportions of characters and perspective look off in many panels, but the excellent storytelling and amount of sheer character placed in the art help to overcome this.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

I give this issue 4 out of 5 stars. I have some minor criticisms, but it is such an enjoyable read that it didn’t hamper my enthusiasm for the book. I absolutely loved the final few pages of the issue and theyÂ summed up Faith’s character motivations perfectly. While this issue does a great job of wrapping things up with the Faithless, it stillÂ leaves things open for future issues. Just how will Faith clear her name, for example?

Written by Jody Houser
Art by Joe Eisma
Published by Valiant Comics