Vanish #7: What Goes Down…

Vanish #7 is a tricky issue to review. Regarding technical value, the team is still firing on all cylinders. Cates & Stegman are doing a great job balancing out their edgier self-indulgences with quality narrative delivery, character writing, and pacing. V. Ken Marion is doing great on art duties, and the team is doing a bang-up job of ensuring that the style and atmosphere are consistent between art changes. The book is building towards something conceptually exciting and thematically bombastic, this issue making great strides in fleshing out and exploring the truth behind Ollie’s growing internal darkness. It’s hard to rave about an issue that is more of the same,  a proverbial moving of the plot, and that’s really all, but how the team moves that plot forward is still exciting and full of great ideas.

Ollie’s slow growth into either becoming the new host for Vanish or becoming Vanish himself has been an excellent plot pivot to follow. You feel for him as the brutality of his actions and the dissolution of his mental state lies out of his control, Armory pushing him to the edge of moral action that nearly seals the deal on Ollie as a full-blown villain. The team has handled this twist excellently; this issue is no exception.

The team is writing this fall as naturally as they can, incorporating Elyn and her magical abilities into the plot creatively and expertly. As mentioned, what happens here is set up to push the plot forward with fun action, magic skills, and more insight into Elyn’s golden heart. For long-time Image fans, especially Spawn readers, there’s an Easter egg here that was an absolute delight to see and services the introduction of chaos into the plot once more.

V. Ken Marion isn’t an artist with too many credits. However, his work on this issue was beyond impressive. While he may not match Stegman, he goes par to par with a penciling style that enriches every environment and character he touches. The coloring team is also still just putting out some of the best work in the industry with lighting and colors that are beyond believable, atmospheric, and tonal distinctive.