Wild Animals #5: The Truth

Brisson’s slowly evolving crime story comes to a shocking end in Wild Animals #5. In some ways, it goes completely off the rails–but in the best ways possible. After teasing an alternative possibility for the night Neil was hurt in the previous issue, Brisson smartly leaves no doubt about what happened. The revelations upend the series, reframing events all the way back to the first issue. All of this comes out in an extended dialogue sequence that takes up roughly ? of the issue. Crime and mystery stories often come down to these kinds of “all will be revealed” scenes and if done poorly, they can derail the story’s ending. That scene is very effective here as Brisson marries it to characters’ emotions rather than a simple nuts and bolts plot resolution.

This dialogue scene also provides the perfect conclusion to Neil’s character arc. Wild Animals began less as a crime story and more of a character exploration. In a lot of ways, the series ends in the same way. Neil is an entirely different person by the end of Wild Animals, and his transformation has been a disturbing one. Indeed, Neil’s internal monologue in the opening pages of Wild Animals #5 is shocking. As was the case when the series began, Brisson tests the reader’s ability to find the series’ main character sympathetic.

Kuhn’s art does a lot of heavy lifting to help solve the potential problem of keeping Neil sympathetic. Kuhn brings more detail to Neil’s face in Wild Animals #5 than in any previous issue. Most of it is in and around Neil’s eyes, but there are additional patches of shading on his cheeks and near his mouth when he is agitated. Kuhn’s lines are rough and the patches of shading that aren’t all black are often simple crosshatches. Overall Kuhn gives Neil a rugged look that is especially appropriate in this issue.

Neil’s scripted internal monologue and later his side of the long dialogue exchange captures his troubled state of mind, but it’s Kuhn’s art that really establishes the haunted uncertainty that is a part of him following his actions.

Wild Animals #5’s final four pages contain a measure of ambiguity. Neil’s character arc resolves, and the plot as was established in the first issue concludes. But there is a “what happens next?” quality when all is said and done. Some readers might prefer a more definitive conclusion, but this works quite well for the journey Neil has been on.

Flashbacks featuring Neil’s father have had a washed out, slightly yellow tinted quality throughout the series. The same is true in Wild Animals #5. In this issue, though, they mostly occur during a daytime outdoor dialogue exchange. The story cuts back and forth between flashback and present day interactions. Cunniffe’s more vibrant outdoor setting, from the outdoor greenery to the blue tinged sky, create an effective contrast with the flashbacks. Perhaps it is because these flashback sequences take place at the end of Neil’s journey, but the character feels more fully in the present thanks to Cunniffe’s color choices.

The latter half of Wild Animals #5 is very text heavy. This isn’t surprising because the story has reached the point where the whole truth has to come out. Jones’s work keeping caption boxes and dialogue bubbles out of the way of the art is impressive. This is especially the case during the flashback sequence as those panels are filled with a great deal of visual information. The captions never feel cluttered or hard to follow, though–something that’s especially important for maybe the most important sequence in the whole series.