Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #3 // Review
The gentleman in question doesn't work even remotely like the type of person would be going to a roller rink. Nevertheless, there he is. And he claims to be bringing his own skates. He's an old guy. Well dressed. Kind of slimy looking, though. Kind of CD looking. He spots something that a couple of the employees are looking at. And he's asking the perfectly irrational question of why they would have a murder board for a cartoon character. It's actually kind of a threatening encounter in.Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #3. Writer Tyler Boss continues a murder mystery thriller with artist Dylan Barnet. Color comes to the page courtesy of Jordie Bellaire.
Rascall Randy continues to kill people. Or rather somebody in his costume. And so it really could be anybody in town. Especially a slimy-looking character. Who comes around to the roller rink and drops off a card with the employees letting them know which hotel he's staying at. Maybe he's there to help. Or maybe he's there to get rid of people who are investigating his murders. That's the thing: there's really no way of knowing who the murderer is. Just some guy in a mascot costume. Could be anybody. The mystery continues.
Boss continues to play with the basic costume mystery in ways that continue to explore the characters history. There's a definite fusion between this particular rabbit and a certain mouse. They're definitely drawing some parallels between his creator and Walt Disney. So it's kind of interesting to see the background on this fictional, cartoon character. Theoretically there could be more satire carved into the heart of this thing. But that's not really all that necessary. The central heart of it really is the mystery. And that's all the series really needs. Everything else is just style and flavor.
Burnett picks up the sky style and really runs with it. There's just enough expressiveness around all of the edges of all of the lines to suggest a more animated universe than the one we walk through. However, it's all very firmly rooted in a very respectively concrete reality. The darkness is definitely they're around the edges of the cuteness. Around the edges of the simple and mundane. And it all hits the page in a way that feels like an appealing place to visit once a month. It's quite a bit of fun visually. And Bellaire’s colors continue to add style attitude and depth to the style in a way that feels delicious.
Above all, the murder mystery has a sense of humor about it. It's dark. But it's definitely there. It's definitely enjoyable. That sense of humor resonates through the series in a way that continues to keep the pages turning well beyond the establishment of the initial from a couple of issues ago. Cultural satire would be appreciated if Boss was able to make it work in a way that. Didn't necessarily conflict with the central heartbeat of the murder mystery. But it's not absolutely necessary.
