Sleep #8 // Review
Jonathan had a deliberately gone unconscious. And maybe he was in an effort to escape the horrors of what was going on. Maybe it was just an effort to escape the lab. That was entirely possible as well. Any case, Jonathan was relieved to run into Tabby. She gave him a pill which he really, really helped would turn out to be some kind of a cure for his condition. Jonathan's story comes to a close in Sleep #8. Writer/artist Zander Cannon concludes his horror mystery with an issue that feels a lot more visually appealing than it is conceptually.
There's a clearness about the situation. Jonathan is half conscious. Walking ghost restlessly, moving through the horror of what's left of the town. Or maybe what's left of his conception of it. He's moving through the horrors trying to understand what it was that might've happened. What it was that might have caused the whole situation. Certain things might seem a bit skewed. Certain things might seem a bit off. But he certainly beginning to realize what it is that's going on. And that realization might just set him a free beyond anything that any pharmaceutical could do for him.
Cannon has worked his way through quite a bit of exposition and revelation in the weed up to this final issue in the series. Jonathan has been through hell and back, and there is a deep understanding of his emotional state that can be read into the pacing and presentation of all the little scraps and shards and fragments of mystery that continue to cascade across page and panel. The revelation at the end of the issue feels strong enough to serve as closure for the whole situation. It might not be totally satisfying in a very deepest sense. But it's a relief to see it come to an end for Jonathan.
The substance of the story that's being put together isn't anywhere in near as interesting as the visuals. Everything is seen through Jonathan's eyes. And at this stage, it's fragmented. It's cascading through in a dream like nightmare. And the contrast between the grays and the blacks and the reds feel very profound. Visually it's very striking on every level from the land to the rendering of the conclusion to the emotional impact of everything as it hits the page. It's all very profound stuff. And it all seems to work quite well.
Cannon had piled and crammed and stuffed every issue with a lot of details that lead in different directions. And there's quite a bit here for someone who would be of a mind to really get into the deeper mysteries of everything. However, the visual aspects of the series seem that much more profound, and that much more powerful than anything that can it's exploring on more explicit level with the mysteries of the series. It's nice to know that those elements are there for people who really want to get very, very into it, though.
