Hellions #17: Little Baby Bunting

The first thing I’ll say about this issue is that the pacing is absolutely insane. The plot shunts, at a breakneck pace, from point to point, galloping from the setup to denouement without ever slacking. The fact that Wells has managed to weave so much solid character work amongst the carnage is a minor miracle. 

Every character gets a little dab of humanity layered into the story. As well as giving the main characters room to breathe, Wells shines light on Susan, the cultist who out-Zealots the zealots, the doctors, and even a pair of poor, doomed county cops. They all have something, a line or an action, setting them apart from the usual comic book cannon fodder, something that makes you laugh, or feel a prickle of recognition. This makes it hurt more when they start to die.

Of course the majority of the emotional heavy lifting is being done by the Hellions themselves. Kwannon has found herself in a similar position as Nanny (they’re both parents who have failed, and who are now missing their children) and her quiet, barely suppressed grief rises through every scene that she’s in. Havok and Greycrow both have small moments of closure, and I have to say that it was particularly satisfying to see Alex reveling in the possible restoration of Maddy a little bit. Hellion experiences repercussions from his betrayal. Even Kyle gets a chance to show his master a little bit of love. 

A large part of the reason that this book works so well is that the humor, the violence, the evil, all of the reasons that people think that they are reading this book, are buttressed by the author’s solid understanding of psychology and deep, ingrained love of the flaws that make us human. This isn’t a group of f*ck-ups running wild in an island paradise. This is an examination of the ways that trauma shapes us all into monsters. And how we claw our way back into the light. 

That’s what all those lovely quotes from Nightcrawler are about, because if any character understands trauma, it’s that one. 

Of course, things go wrong for Orphan Maker, Nanny, and Baby. Things go spectacularly wrong. But I’m not going to spoil that for you here. You’ll just have to go out and grab a copy.

When you do, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll sit there, gape mouthed, lodged in your chair, unable to move. You’ll gawp at Stephen Segovia’s astonishing art (pages of chaotic battle laid out with the clarity of perfect thought) picked out in Rain Beredo’s palate of jewels and dust. 

You’ll be a little different, after you finish it. Your head might hurt. And so might your heart. But, I promise you, it will be worth it. I can’t wait to see how this arc ends, but at the same time I’ll be sad to see it finished off.