Review – ‘Exquisite Corpses’ #3 Tries To Tackle Existential Questions Amid A Bloodbath
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
This issue demonstrates how good writing can’t necessarily solve mundane plotting. This young series has already gotten into a bit of a rut by taking a unique idea and making it predictable in each issue. It’s still a fun ride, but it could be so much better by shaking things up and reducing the character count.
Overall
8/10Who are you?
It’s a simple question really. But in the hands of writers like Pornsak Pichetshote and James Tynion IV, that straightforward query takes on new meaning. Are you a maniacal serial killer battling other murderers in a small Maine town to help your sponsor win a game? Are you a resident of the town forced to deal with the increasing body count?
Or are you something more basic? Are you an adult living in the mind of a 15-year old whose girlfriend broke up with him or the young Black girl who was chased home from school by racist bullies?
These are not the kinds of questions you’re used to encountering in a comic book, much less a horror title. Yet that’s where Pichetshote and Tynion take their readers. It’s a welcome diversion and the high point of an otherwise unremarkable chapter.
Oh sure, the body count rises and one of the killers is dispatched – just like in the other issues. At this point, the routine is starting to become a little tiresome, and a spattering of interesting dialogue among certain minor characters will only get you so far.
The limited series’ biggest issue remains that there are too many killers in town to remember (one for each of the original 13 colonies, save Pennsylvania, which won the last contest and now secretly rules the country). Tynion did a great job of introducing the killer dozen two issues ago, but that seems like ancient history to the monthly reader. On the plus side, there’s one less killer to keep track of each issue.
Valentine De Landro and Michael Walsh handle artistic duties this issue (as with the writer, the primary penciler changes with each issue). De Landro’s style is not overly detailed, but he gets the point across well enough. In an issue with a double-digit body count, lots of detail isn’t the most desirable quality.
With nearly a quarter of the series’ run now in the hands of readers, it’s time for Tynion and Walsh to shake things up story-wise. Otherwise readers the occasional intriguing question posed won’t be enough to keep them coming back for more.
