Eternity Girl #5 // Review
With only one issue left in this 6 issue series, issue five finally seems to answer some head-scratching questions that this series has raised, and yet manages to raise more. The creative team of Magdalene Visaggio, Sonny Liew, and Chris Chuckry have taken readers on quite the journey in only a few issues. Caroline Sharpe, alias Chrysalis, was transformed into a being of intrinsic waves, as she states, who is in control of every atom in her body. Ever since a workplace accident left coworkers hurt, she was suspended from her job at a top secret government agency and fell into severe depression. Caroline began having visions of her deceased sworn enemy, Madame Atom, who was pointing her in the direction of ending her suffering by ending all of existence.
Series writer Magdalene Visaggio has really kept the readers on their toes, constantly having to question if what they are reading is Caroline’s reality or the twisted symptoms of her illness. Visaggio has been able to construct the narrative between all characters, save for her friend Dani, that Caroline is best to be avoided. This is also true of society today, as people with mental illness are often shunned or cast aside. There is a saying that you will know who your true friends are when things go badly. Visaggio has done an excellent job crafting the relationship between Caroline and the one character who actually cares about her, Dani. Dani has been the one person to see through Caroline’s disfigurement due to the accident that gave Caroline her powers. The relationship between Caroline and Rick Rex, alias the Never Man, is also explored in more detail. Rick is torn between acting in the best interests of his employer, who is trying to rein Caroline in, and being a friend to a former co-worker who is obviously having a traumatic life experience. Visaggio also delivers more narrative on Lord Crash, one of the four “Lords of Order and Chaos” who has become a key player in this series and will no doubt have an impact on the conclusion of this book. Issue number five has delivered some of the strongest character development yet of the series.
Sonny Liew’s art style for this book really has to grow on the reader, but, once it does, it fits the overall tone of the series very well. From issue one, his art style has had this janky, very cartoony feel to it; however, once readers gets into the story, they will understand why. Caroline, dealing with severe depression, doesn’t have a solid grasp on reality. Liew’s artwork reflects a book where reality is questioned in every panel. The characters don’t have to fit standard comic artwork, as they may be figments of imagination. None of the characters or environments are drawn smoothly, and that seems to be the point. Liew does have some shining moments throughout this series. Issue five features a panel showing other versions of Caroline from her many reincarnations, which were heavily featured in the previous issue. This was a great addition to the series, and a welcome break from jaggedness of Caroline’s reality. Liew also features a large panel of Lord Crash in all of his omnipotent glory, with the record being a big focal point for this panel and a reiteration of the importance of it for the series.
Colorist Chris Chuckry’s use of colors for the vastness of Caroline’s mind really help make this series something special. Every panel that involves a trip into Caroline’s psyche is like the process of making a tie-dye shirt. Wave after wave of beautiful colors, mix and swirl together creating fantastic combinations. The addition of Chuckry’s colors to the battle panels make them explode off of the page. The choices of colors may seem somewhat erratic; however, given the nature of Caroline’s mind, they blend perfectly with everything else going on in this series.
With one more issue left in this mind boggling series, the creative team of Visaggio, Liew and Chuckry have taken readers on quite the journey. With the cliffhanger ending to issue number five, readers can be sure that the finale will be an epic conclusion to this short and very strange trip through the mind.
