Stillwater #18: ‘In the End? Nothing Ends’

Endings are always tricky. Whether it’s a short story or a massive, sprawling epic doesn’t matter. The end of a product always feels constructed in some regard, as they are antithetical to reality. The reader exists beyond the end of a story, and how internalizing a conclusion speaks to the effectiveness of an ending. A good finish will either resolve the central conflict of a story or offer something to ponder if a clear resolution isn’t reached. 

That’s what makes Stillwater #18 – written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Ramón K. Pérez, colors from Mike Spicer, and letters by Rus Wooton – such a satisfying end, as it delivers one last twist to the story of the immortal town. The bulk of the issue focuses on Daniel’s attempt at inspiring the city to leave the border and move past immortality. Even after the nearby village of Coldwater struggles under the curse, Galen and his marines oppose the movement. 

Violence breaks out in the town, echoing the Civil War battle that led Clara to make the deal for immortality. As the fighting distracts Galen, and Daniel recovers from being torn apart, Ted, Laura, and Tanya flee Stillwater to find the children that were guided out. The three are forced to fight Kreegs, and Ted takes them both to their death to ensure the children’s survival and freedom. 

Back in town, Daniel recovers and reaches Galen through his speech, keying in that the town’s opinions have shifted. Weeks later, people choose to leave and embrace their morality or stay in town and grapple with what comes alongside neverending life. Daniel, Galen, Clara, and Laura meet outside the cities and attempt to reverse the curse by erasing the town’s borders, leaving the book with one last lingering question. 

Zdarsky’s scripting is a poignant yet pointed last examination of the conflicting view on immortality, building Galen vs. Daniel to express these diametrically opposed views. The conflict feels one-sided in the best possible way, as Daniel has a broader worldview and the perspective of living with a finite existence. Galen, and by extension the entirety of Stillwater, can only draw from their stagnant view of the world, living on a rigid code of isolationism. Before knives and weapons are drawn out in the final confrontation, the two argue about their views, and it never feels preachy or a treatise on immortality. 

Instead, Zdarsky infuses these philosophical concepts through character and action, ensuring the conflict feels personal. That decision charges the scenes with an energy that matches the action as the sequences blend on the page. It’s such a smooth transition between panels that it may require a second read-through to track the two lines. Zdarsky’s parallel structure is also an excellent showcase of the inevitable conclusion that the book reaches, working with the form to convey the ending decisions of the book’s antagonists. 

The art in the issue picks up Zdarsky’s thematic currents and reinforces them into the case, building on the formal elements to sell the emotion and plot. In each sequence, Pérez utilizes similar layouts and compositions to create a parallel rhythm that makes it easy for the sequences to interspace. These instances of shifting between different sequences on the page rely on Spicer’s colors to key into what panel belongs with what line. Pérez’s depictions of violence and anatomy never break from consistency in these changes, ensuring everything flows naturally. 

Each sequence concludes as a full-page splash, opening up from the structured panel layouts to showcase a sense of resolution. Pérez mirrors the splashes to create a sense of symmetry across the various plots as the book and series end. The focus and coloring are the three key differences in each, one closing in on Daniel and Galen in the frame, the second giving a bird’s eye view of Kregg and Ted dying in flames from a distance, and the last page of Daniel and crew from behind. 

Each image echoes one another, guiding the reader through the core aesthetics of the series. The beautiful image of Americana with a vast open sky and rustic wheat contrasts against the blood red of the town engulfed in violence as Galen embraces/stabs Daniel, which also contrasts with the warm orange of the flames that burn away the militant hold of the city. Each instance puts Spicer’s palettes on display and ensures the book’s look is cemented one last time. It’s a striking decision but works with the framework Zdarsky and Pérez establish in the issue. 

Wooton also delivers excellent work within the framework of the issue, the lettering maintaining a consistent quality that never distracts from the other elements of the problem. Wooton’s caption boxes for Daniel’s narrations evoke a handwritten sense, which connects with his backstory as a writer, something that feels so far removed from the current plot but makes sense when examining his path as an orator and leader. Daniel knows how to construct a narrative, and his narration matches that, thanks to Wooton’s touch.

Along with the captions, the SFX work with Pérez’s linework to show the heft of violence, reminding us that while death doesn’t come for the people of Stillwater, the physics and pain are real. Each aspect of the letter speaks to the book’s thematic core, just like the art and coloring.