Twelve Reasons To Die #5
Publisher: Black Mask
Writer(s): Matthew Rosenberg & Patrick Kindlon
Artist(s): Breno Tamura,Gus Storms, Russel Roehling, & Ryan Kelly
Cover: Johnnie Christmas
The past and present come together in gruesome fashion right here as the connection between Anthony Starks and the Ghostface Killah is revealed. With the DeLuca family back from hiding they are finally ready for war against Starks and his Black Suits. Their plan is to take their city back and spill some blood doing it. However, Tony isn’t going out so easy but his fate is already sealed. While in the present Migdal’s is finally brought face to face with the Ghostface Killah as we see the quickest and most violent ending to a kid’s birthday party ever!
In the previous issues the stories have been told separately as we were shown the rise of Anthony Starks in one and the vengence of the Ghostface Killah on those that possessed the cursed records in the other. Now with the combination of the two timelines there’s a much different feel to this issue. Whether it’s because of the faster pace and action or just the way Rosenberg and Kindlon chose to tell the story this issue is the payoff we’ve been waiting for! The horror and crime drama elements flow together quite perfectly making one wonder why this wasn’t the method of storytelling from the beginning.
Aside from the writing another standout part of this series has been the artwork from Tamura and Storms along with the guests for the flashback scenes. Everyone has brought a unique style that helps to elevate the story and entertain the eye on every page. This issue is no different thought it was a pretty jarring shift in styles when Storms work was mixed with Roehling and Kelly’s. What did make it all work was that regardless of the shift there is consistent strong visual storytelling going on here. Plus, the splash page of the decapitation was one of the THE best parts of the issue!
Twelve Reasons To Die is a bold venture in cross promotion since Ghostface Killah’s album of the same name tells the story as well. However, you don’t need one to enjoy the other since the entire creative team for the comic series made sure it’s strong enough to stand on it’s own. So, with Migdal almost at the end of his quest for the haunted vinyl things should end pretty bloody for someone in the final issue of Twelve Reasons To Die!
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