Review: Two Unexpected Characters Battle To The Death In ‘Exquisite Corpses’ #13
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
This uneven season is back with a vengeance, featuring two would-be killers whose identity will likely be a surprise to most readers. Some strong art caps off this so-called season finale.
Overall
9/10Exquisite Corpses’ final battle is here. But the two characters fighting for it are probably not the ones you were expecting — at least at first.
Instead of the Fox Mask Killer or Rascal Randy trying to kill each other to give their rich families secret control of the United States for the next five years, it’s two of Oak Valley’s residents, Audrey and Laura – aka Audrey Unleashed and the Last Gunman – who are left standing at the end.
If that’s a surprise to you, you must have missed the last issue, where the townsfolk unexpectedly killed off the last two maniacs threatening them and their Maine town on Halloween night. A loophole in the rules gives control of the U.S. not the family behind the original killer, but whoever wields their weapon. Enter Audrey and Laura, a mom and EMT, respectively.
Credit writer James Tynion IV for pulling this surprise out of his bag of many tricks. This final scenario feels like something that might have come in the second or third season of a series like this, when patterns have already been established and things needed to be shaken up a bit. Instead, Tynion turns things around quickly, which makes you wonder what he’ll be up to when the second season runs.
Like Tynion artist Michael Walsh, abandons any guest help for this finale. The pair understand the importance of this fight, so there’s an extended sequence where there’s no dialogue, just Walsh’s depictions of biting, stabbing, shooting, and otherwise maiming. All in all, an extraordinary Halloween for Oak Valley’s residents.
Exquisite Corpses‘ first season has had its ups and downs. With a dozen killers, plus the families, and the townspeople, there were often too many characters for readers to keep track of (even with a March Madness-style bracket in the back of each issue). But the series regained its footing in recent issue and reminded us why Tynion and Walsh are masters of their craft.
Exquisite Corpses #13 — written by James Tynion IV, illustrated by Michael Walsh, colored by Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Becca Carey — is available in comic book stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.
