Shatterstar #4: To Death Do Us Part

Shatterstar #4 provides more substance in Gringrave’s character with high obsessions and insecurities. Though she comes across as the “crazy ex-girlfriend”, there may be more to the story. One of the thinking patterns most associated with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is “All-or-Nothing Thinking”. The relationship between Shatterstar and Gringrave, past and present, demonstrate to the readers why this can be such a troubling symptom for folks with this mental illness and the people they accompany. The onset of this miniseries uses every trick in the book to keep Shatterstar hooked on Gringrave.

It is very appealing to me when a comic book promotes awareness of an issue. Whether it is intentional or not, Tim Seeley does a decent job on exposing the symptoms of BPD and the difficulties it brings, especially to relationships. However, generally, society does a disservice to people with BPD, often normalizing and rewarding their symptoms. Perhaps as a whole, we can learn to walk the middle path, and recognize that others with mental illness tendencies need and deserve our empathy, support, and treatment.

Shatterstar #4 picks up the pace and perspective in the Horus IV galactic entertainment. The artwork by Carlos villa, Juan Vlasco, Carlos Lopez, and flashbacks by Gerardo Sandoval exceeded expectations in the gladiator panels with the gruesome blood splatter. However, they may be overlooking the target audience. The binary thinking towards bisexuality’s existence ultimately oppresses everyone by perpetuating unflinching standards of identity, whether it’s heteronormative or homonormative. The beauty of the artwork in this series might improve through a better understanding in the fluid spectrum of sexuality.

The end result of Shatterstar’s relationship to Gringrave was predictable. With only one more issue to this miniseries, it’s anyone’s guess to how this story arc will end. I hope that when Shatterstar returns to Rictor, Seeley or future writer will show readers how to establish boundaries in the relationship with an important sense of structure. Refer to Shatterstar #2; https://comic-watch.com/comic-book-reviews/shatterstar-2-status-quo, see the connection to this issue and how Shatterstar’s relationship to Gringrave affects his relationship to Rictor.