Gotham City Monsters #6: A Fitting End

The final issue of Gotham City Monsters sees Melmoth’s plot defeated, leaving the fate of the Multiverse to other hands (see Justice League). Orlando managed to unite a team of cast-off characters to stop an undying megalomaniac from sacrificing every Gotham City in the Multiverse in a way that felt like it mattered despite the low stakes at play. That is a feat worthy of praise in and of itself but Orlando also managed to overdeliver in terms of characterization while also delivering a new status quo to many of the characters.

Amancay Nahuelpan’s artwork throughout the series was appropriately macabre and foreboding but in this final issue, he outdid himself with sequences of over-the-top gore that remind readers of the horror roots for most of these characters. There is nothing quite like seeing the main villain flailing about with a dagger through his neck, only to pull that dagger out and continue along with his plans. Nahuelpan was a real treat and a major factor in making Gotham City Monsters a surprise hit mini-series.

As we approached the final pages, Orlando and company were careful to avoid the usual mini-series trappings of reverting each character to neutral for the next writer to pick up the reigns. These characters, rendered true to past incarnations, were also changed in varying degrees throughout the course of these six issues. New and potentially lasting bonds were forged between unlikely future comrades with the promise that, when the need arises for “heroes most monstrous”, these characters could very well reuinite for an encore. That’s a certain victory for those lucky enough to have picked up this shockingly good mini-series.