That’s The Sound Of The Police — Reviewing ‘Neighborhood Watch’ #5

Everything comes crashing down as the mystery behind Jill-Cassie’s attacker. The secrets of her double life are fully revealed. Lives are changed and hard truths are examined as Neighborhood Watch #5 brings the murder mystery social commentary miniseries to a conclusion.

Sarah Gailey, Haining, Rebecca Nalty, and Jodie Troutman hold nothing back as they close out their story with a true bang.

-Spoilers Follow-

Mysteries are not always meant to bamboozle or throw you for a loop. Sometimes they come with obvious answers that appear pretty obvious. The obviousness of the mystery solution serves a purpose.

There are numerous reasons why the husband, boyfriend, or father are instantly persons of interest in murders, missing persons, and various types of assault. Toxicity surrounds masculinity and the patriarchy  in many cultures and societies. Men are “allowed” to display emotions like anger freely and they more often than not feel entitled. Working in law enforcement, rules seemingly don’t apply. This only exacerbates any toxic and harmful tendencies.

This is the case when it comes to Erik, the police officer husband of Jill-Cassie, who was behind her shooting. Right from the beginning, his nonplussed behavior was suspect and each piece of the puzzle just seemed to keep pointing back towards him. By the time we learn in the fourth issue that he was an abusive husband protected by the thin blue line, he was already the clear suspect.

Again, there is nothing wrong with that. There was a point to this story that they team was telling. A lot of points were made about police, toxic masculinity, abusers, the pervasiveness of “othering” people or communities, and so much more.

That’s what I love about anything that Gailey works on as a writer. Nothing is held back as justified swipes are taken at our broken society. From the rich to the powerful, and those in-between, no social ill is off limits in these stories.

By the time all is said and done we learned how awful Erik is, and how much blood is truly on his hands. It’s a cheer worthy moment when Bianca kills him with a shovel and Val makes sure to give the old horror movie double tap with a gun to be certain. Even better is strapping his body to the weapons he was looking to bust them over, so that they can blow up the mountain that separates the communities. This truly tears down the walls that separate us, so that both sides can at last see each other for who they are rather than who they are perceived to be.

A lightness is pervasive in the artwork that Haining creates. A softer kind of whimsical stylistic choice works to bring the humanity and energy. Here, we see it also take on rougher qualities which befit the overall tone of this tale. This is especially in play as we move into the harder areas with Erik’s rage and the final confrontation. Harder beats come in the perfect facial expressions and body language which communicate so much to our eyes through the issue.

One of the elements to call out here is the beautiful usage of paneling. Haining utilizes the whole of the page to let panels shift, change, and really resonate with the reader. Some of them take on more out of the box shapes, while being surrounded by colorful negative space that is perfect as a divider and eye catcher.

Utilization of more natural or neutral and dimmer colors in most spaces contributes to the overall feeling. Nalty uses the flashier vibrant ones for the spaces and some of the elements we see happening on the panel. Overall, though, it’s a more sedate and toned-down color palette that is in play, which works wonders for this particular world and the elements in play.

Intensity radiates from every single page. That makes sense, since this is the conclusion. A lot of hard truth comes to the forefront. A lot of explanation and talking has to happen in this moment as characters are confronting one another. Not a bit of the dialogue or other lettering becomes overwhelming or is out of place under Troutman’s steady hand. Each letter is infused with the right emotional resonance to perfectly convey what is seen on page.

Neighborhood Watch #5 is now available from BOOM! Studios.