Advance Review — ‘Exquisite Corpses’ #4 Shakes Things Up Just Enough
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
This issue demonstrates how shaking things up – even slightly – isn’t just a useful tool but necessary in defying audience expectations. It sure doesn’t hurt that this tale of serial killers taking over a small town is well written and illustrated.
Overall
9.5/10Some comic book creators know exactly the right time to tweak the formula that has made their series successful. In the case of the great Exquisite Corpses, the series chose this fourth issue to change things up just enough to keep readers glued to this thrilling title.
Corpses has been by no means boring, but the series about 12 megarich families each bringing a killer into a small Maine town for a bloody contest had been getting just a bit formulaic. Up until now, each issue has featured the behind-the-scenes intrigue among the families (which has arguably been the series’ weakest plot element) along with a battle and the death of one of the killers. (This first limited series is only a 13-parter, after all.)
That formula only works for so long. This issue doesn’t break that mold so much as twist it a bit. We don’t see the families at all this time and – minor spoiler – none of the killers is sent off to the Happy Hunting Ground. It was already exciting; now it’s unpredictable as well.
Credit writers Che Grayson and James Tynion IV for the twist. (Tynion is the series co-creator and cowriter for each issue; Grayson is a guest writer for this installment.) The pair bookends a showdown in a used car lot with a new character’s encounter with one of the killers. And they throw in a little connection back to a previous encounter, which keeps the overall story moving in a thrilling way.
Guest artist Adam Gorham teams up with co-creator Michael Walsh to illustrate the issue. While none of the major characters die, there is still plenty of death and severed body parts to keep them busy. The opening pages are particularly arresting – including several heads in a children’s ball pit.
Sticking to a winning formula is understandable. Knowing when to shake things up is the sign experienced creators who know their audience and aren’t afraid to disrupt the system. In the end, readers will reward them for it.
Exquisite Corpses #4 will be available in comic book stores and on digital platforms on August 20 from Image Comics.
