REVIEW: Lola: Wasteland Madam # 4 (of 4)
The fight for the airport is over! At the end of last issue all seemed lost as Lola gave herself up to the less charming (by now) Alton in order to save her friends who either wanted to follow her or kill her. Still, Lola has an ace up her sleeve and an overall goal to achieve. Banking on her previous relationship with Alton, Lola looks to set things in motion that may very well produce the required results. This being the fourth book out of four, you would assume that there is an element of resolution in play, of course it is readers choice as to whether it is a satisfying ending.
Writer Vince Hernandez sees the end of the current arc and despite some stellar work on previous issues, seems to have dropped the ball somewhat, as the focus on the backstory seems to have been the better part of the story. The conclusion, such as it is, does have an element of contrivance along with a minor continuity glitch or two, one of which takes away the reason the groups were fighting in the first place. For the first time, the monologue aspect in this issue has felt a little flat which
doesn’t help my disappointment with the ending.
As always, the strength of this book is the art. Siya Oum’s work remains consistently fantastic across the board. Facial aspects are good, if a little cheesecake, the transition elements are covered and action pieces are well paced throughout. I have mentioned before how the panel structure helps convey the pace of the book. The colors, provided by Oum, have a painted look which gives the wasteland an lived in feel.
Reading this conclusion, I am left a feeling a little bit bewildered about this book. I understand that it’s an ongoing series of mini series, so there has to be enough of an open end to allow that to happen. But the conclusion of this arc serves little purpose. With all the frustrations that Lola had to suffer with the airport group, I feel all that effort has been somewhat wasted. Could it be that the wasteland in the title refers not to an environment, but to the ramifications of the relationships left behind?
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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