Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #4 // Review
It’s been difficult lately. Jack has stopped his experiments. He’s been forced to do so due to circumstances beyond his control. He knows that Tommy is out there somewhere. He’s gotten so much worse due to the effects of the monocane and the psychological effects of his chemically-induced condition. Tommy is killing people and Jack knows that he may be next. Jack is in danger and he knows it in Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #4. Writer James Tynion IV and artist Dani conclude their comic book adaptation of the classic 1933 horror movie with a well-executed finale that feels suitably powerful.
Tommy could be lurking anywhere along the edges of Jack’s lief. He could be stalking him from every corner. Or maybe he’s not even interested in him. Maybe Tommy’s only killing other people. People who don’t know about his condition would be easier targets. Still--Jack can’t be too careful. Then there’s the sudden warning. All of his data vanishes into the fireplace. There’s no question that Tommy did it to terrorize Jack. Now Jack knows that he’s got to go into survival mode. He’s got to focus on sruvival against one of the most vicious hunters imaginable.
Tynion frames the central conflict of the film as the series draws to a chlling close. The pacing is cleverly formulated. The narrative flits by quite quickly with the kind of pulse not often found in a single issue of a single comci book. Jack’s journey shoots by in a dizzyingly quick fugue that takes firm hold of the central conflict of the movie and rides it straight through to the final panels of the series. It’s a sharp rendering of the action that feels remarkably well-constructed from beginning to end.
Dani continues a strikingly chilling rendering of the period horror. So much of the challenge in the artist’s work for this series has been a process of finding the right way to visually explore the danger of the invisible. There’s a paranoid elements to Dani’s execution of the artwork that goes a long way toward delivering the horror. The white absence of background around the title character DOES have a chilling effect on the page even if there isn’t any reason why it should work at all. The white silhouette of invisibility can seem a bit silly in places, but Dani’s unwavering persistence with the white silhouette makes for an irresistibly inhuman monser.
The four-part series has been a remarkably striking. Skybound’s Universal Monster family of adaptations continues to hold a great amount of appeal. The next big adaptation will be The Phantom of the Opera, which makes its big sneak preview this issue. It’s been a stylish approach to renewing interest in classy, old horror films that continue to draw an appeal from fans of classic Hollywood horror and others who might be on the periphery of the genre. It’s going to be interesting to see where the Universal/Skybound connection is going to lead in the future.
