Reviewing ‘Kaitō’84’ #5

Welcome to the table,

I’m not good with endings. I really don’t do well with them. I tend to skip the last few episodes of a series I really enjoy. I put off reading the last few chapters of a book if I have had a good time with it, and when it comes to comics, I find it really hard to get through the last issue because it means that the story is over and there is something so … final about that. It makes it even harder when the numbers are printed right on the front of the book, so Kaitō’84 #5 of 5 feels like the last track of a record I have been really grooving to.

But it’s time to finish the song … so let’s get into it.

Written by Zack Rosenberg and Jared Cullum, with art and letters by Cullum, Kaitō’84, based on the living legend Stan Sakai‘s Usagi Yojimbo, has been nothing short of magical from start to finish, and this final issue is no exception.

In the halls of Osaka Castle, Kaitō, the descendant of Usagi, and his rag-tag band of allies are captured and facing the blade of a cursed spear set to summon the reborn demon Jei.

The moody watercolors Cullum brings to the page really give this funky low-fi jazz feel to the work, and when you are spinning Seatbelts or the Lupin III soundtrack, the whole thing really crafts a mood where you can smell the rain-slick streets and hear the clash of steel on retro rooftops.

— Spoilers Follow —

The forces of evil were not expecting a jump kick from Yu, Kaitō’s cousin, and the swift blades of the less-than-legal part of the crew, who quickly free the forces of good and go to work kicking the ever-living crud out of the foes who shackled them.

This leads to a rooftop clash that is nothing short of epic, and while Jei does his best impression of Hans Gruber, he ultimately escapes. The spear that brought him to this era of the story is destroyed, though, and our heroes head off together to gear up for whatever fights may come next.

There is clearly some foreshadowing of events that will happen beyond this, but I don’t know if we will get more, and that leaves me feeling a bit sad.

The art has been beautiful; the story has been powerful but not heavy, giving a real ’80s action movie feel without losing its identity as a Usagi Yojimbo story, not an easy feat but something this creative team manages to deliver on every page.

The last few pages of this issue are an illustrated letter from Rosenberg and Cullum that is very heartfelt and full of family, food, and fashion. It’s the kind of thing that makes the journey through these pages feel worthwhile and like the reader is part of the process and not just a consumer who can take or leave a thing.

I will miss this book. I’m sad it is over … but I hope these two find new stories to tell soon.

Until next time, remember to tell the people in your life you love them … you never know just how much time you have.