Advance Review: The Story Starts To Take Hold In ‘The Eye Collector’ #3

There’s a lot of confusion in The Eye Collector, but one thing is certain: Never let Nathan’s mom tell the kids a bedtime story.

About halfway through this issue, mom tells young Nathan a story about a traveler and a crow. It involves the deaths of thousands of people. Suffice it to say, it’s not a story that is going to help a young mind sleep. That’s OK though. The last thing the kid wants to do is fall into dreamland.

What pays off the not-so-bedtime tale — along with this entire series to date — is GMB Chomichuk’s artwork. From the first panel he has wowed us, even when the story was impenetrable. The imagery of the traveler on a horse, a massive desert chasm, and the crow itself is marvelous. And when the crow spreads its wings, Chomichuk shows us that they are made up of eyes. Nice touch, even if we still don’t understand the whole eye collecting thing. (The eye imagery continues throughout the series.)

The good news is that the story by Chomichuk and Jonathan Ball is starting to reveal itself, if only in drips and drabs. Nathan’s mom and dad are cooperating with the mysterious Copperlius, who visits the boy in his dreams. To protect himself, Nathan has befriended classmate Clara. Does any of this make sense? Not really, but the mud is clearing, if only a little.

It would be more entertaining if the story were just a bit more straightforward. Fortunately, we have Chomichuk’s masterful illustrations to gawk at. They may terrify or suck you in — or both — but they certainly won’t put you to sleep.

The Eye Collector #3 — written by Jonathan Ball and GMB Chomichuk, illustrated by Chomichuk, and lettered by Lyndon Radchenka — will be available Wednesday in comic book stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.