Hornsby & Halo #13 // Review
Tucker’s speaking in a language that Pepper doesn’t understand. Pepper tells her canine compatriot in the next cage to cut it out. The dog can speak English and they both know it. So the dog starts speaking to the cat in English. It doesn’t take long for both of them to realize why they’re both there at the shelter. The Hornsbys have been arrested. So have the Halos. Things are getting tense in Hornsby & Halo #13. Writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Peter Snejbjerg continue their horror fantasy adventure with color artist John Kalisz in another satisfying excursion to that place between heaven, hell and angel and a devil.
Tucker and Pepper have a little bit of time to figure things out. Theoretically they could escape the pet shelter at any moment, but they want to know what they’re getting into before they do so. They can’t wait around TOO long, though: they’ve only got a couple of weeks there before they have to be put to sleep. Things could be tense on the outside and there’s no telling what might be going on. Tucker misses the Hornsbys. He’s not just a familiar...he’s family. Meanwhile...Zach and Rose...angel and devil are on a subway car that seems to be running entirely on its own...
Tomasi elegantly slams everything together on the edge of the current storyline.There are a lot fo lose ends to wrap-up as things progress. There are a lot of individual elements to put together in the resolution of the story. There’s a hell of a lot of momentum that needs to be fed through the right channels in order to resolve enough of the story to result in a satsfying conclusion. Tomasi does a good job of juggling eerything and hitting the breaks on the momentum at just the right time to make it all fall into place by the ast coupel of pages of the current issue.
Snejbjerg’s clean lines and dynamic layout continue to give the title a strong sense of presence on the page. Kalisz’s colors lend a resonance to the page that allows both celestial and infernal energies from Heaven and Hell to feel firmly present on the page. It all feels like it fits on the page more or less pefetly as it comes together at the end of the current storyline. Both Zach and Rose look a bit more composed and a bit more confident on the page than they did in the first couple of issues. The subtlety that Snejbjeg is able to put into that development is really impressive.
The second year of hte series begins as a major storyline draws to a close. The two title characters have come a long way in the process of moving through a harrowing experience on the subway. It’s going to be interesting seeing what direction they’re going to be taking in future issues. There’s a very distinctive feel aout their adventures that holds a great deal of charm.
