Exorsisters #6 // Review
Kate probably feels like she’s in hell because she knows that she’s in heaven. Cate is going to try to rescue her, but it’s going to be kind of complicated in the latest issue of Exorsisters. Writer Ian Boothby cleverly manages some fun supernatural comedy that’s brought to the page by artist Gisèle Lagacé with color by Pete Pantazis. Kate and Cate's inner struggles continue after a brief intermission in another satisfying issue that’s over way too quickly.
Cate remembers that night that her mother saved her from certain horror when she banished a couple of demons that were plaguing her one night in childhood. It’s a potent memory. Too bad she knows that it didn’t actually happen. Angels in heaven want her to remember the past differently. Angels in heaven also want Kate to experience the present differently. Kate’s taken over for Satan in Hell...as a part of her personal heaven which is actually...kind of like hell for her. Cate and Kate make it out of heaven hoping to confront a sinister figure of darkness on earth, but will it cost the Exorsisters more than a one-way ticket out of heaven to defeat a master of darkness?
Boothby’s humor rests on a couple of different levels. The plot itself has a playfully irreverent sense of humor that works on its own. Boothby’s dialogue hits more than a couple of clever punchlines here and there as both Cate and Kate deal with heaven, hell, and something more. Boothby’s script is so appealing that it almost tricks itself into feeling less substantial than it actually is. The issue itself is just over 20 pages in length, but Boothby keeps the story moving briskly enough that it feels like half its actual length.
Lagacé’s Dan DeCarlo-inspired art continues to give this series a deliciously idiosyncratic appeal. Poses and framing might occasionally feel a bit stiff around the edges of the page, but cleverly contrasting attitudes drawn across the faces of Cate and Kate vividly grant the visuals a sense of power and comedy that make for one of the more memorable supernatural comedies on the comics page in recent years. Pantazis’ colors lend depth and luminosity to the page, whether in heaven, heaven’s conception of hell, or somewhere else altogether. Pantazis’ work is particularly impressive in Cate’s false memory at the beginning of the issue. Black, white, grey and muted color contrast beautifully against the demons’ garish red.
Boothby and Lagacé have a really solid feel for the rhythm and the pacing of the occult action sitcom, but the single-issue format doesn’t allow for much substantial development. The first issue to be released in many months is a potent reminder of the series’ absence throughout the recent past. It’s frustrating to have had such a long wait for this issue, but it’s nice to see Kate and Cate return for the first of what hopefully is another satisfying string of months.
