God Has Left Chicago To The Devils: Machine Gun Wizards #4

The dark forces behind Al Capone’s illegal magic operation come out in full force, and Elliot Ness and his team must battle through an army of mobsters, wizards, and ancient powers that threaten more than just Chicago’s lowlifes.
A new genre-bending comic series from Christian Ward, artist of the acclaimed sci-fi epic ODY-C. Drawn by Sami Kivela (Abbott), with backup stories written and drawn by Christian Ward.

Machine Gun Wizards #4 opens up with a press conference, where Chicago’s Chief of Police has to explain to a horde of reporters that Ness and The Untouchables are probably dead.
That’s the spin anyway. Meanwhile, three are actually prisoners of a giant magical space toad, one has turned coat, and Ness is probably around somewhere, as Mr. Alphonse Capone takes drastic measures in order to keep his secret cash cow.

There were a lot of hanging threads going into this series finale, but Christian Ward seems to have tied all of them up nicely. Even threw in a few new ones, right there in the last issue. For a four-chapter mini, this thing is surprisingly complex. Ward is helped, of course, by the fact that nearly everyone has at least some knowledge of the history of the Chicago Crime Syndicate and a few of the major players on either side of the law.
Chapter four is where Wizards really breaks away from the revisionist history angle, and takes off in an all new direction. Scarface isn’t headed to jail. Tax evasion or no. There might be some killing. Also magic. And an angry space toad.

This final chapter is as visually stunning as the first three. Sami Kivela’s linework seamlessly blends Depression-era Chicago with Wizards’ urban fantasy elements. The mystical aspects take center stage in the blowoff, pushing the mundane almost completely into the background.
Christian Ward and Dee Cunniffe’s gritty, sepia toned palette evolves throughout the series until those muted browns and grays all but give way to bright purples, reds and oranges here in the blowoff.

Wizards #4 is a superb send off for a great little mini-series. I was skeptical reading the solicits for this title, thinking there was no way the creative team would hit everything they were aiming for in just four chapters. Good news, gang. They pulled it off. In spades.

Machine Gun Wizards #4, Dark Horse Comics, 27 September 2019. Written by Christian Ward, art by Sami Kivela, color by Christian Ward with Dee Cunniffe, letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, cover by Christian Ward, variant cover by Gabriel Hernandez Walta, published by Mike Richardson, edited by Daniel Chabon assisted by Chuck Howitt, design by Anita Magana, digital art by Allyson Haller.