Mother Panic #12
"Under the Skin, Part 3"
Written By: Jody Houser
Art By: Shawn Crystal
Colors By: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letters By: John Workman and Shawn Crystal
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: October 25, 2017
Waitasec... am I about to discuss a Young Animal book? I didn't know they still made those!
Yes, friends... this is the perhaps-maybe final review for Mother Panic. Hell, for all we know... it might be the way we turn out the lights for Young Animal as a whole!
Well, it's been an honor and privilege to serve. Hopefully it won't be too long before we find ourselves keeping it Young... and Animalistic once more...
Everything (sorta) comes together (sorta) as Mother Panic (sorta) comes to an end... sorta. You really get the feeling as though creative had to pump the brakes a bit with this issue... even more so than the pre-hiatus issues of contemporary Young Animal titles Shade the Changing Girl and Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye. Those titles felt as though they were given a decent enough "end" point. Even if those titles weren't to continue, I feel like they'd give a reader a satisfying experience. Mother Panic on the other hand, leaves us with our heroin heading off to right the wrongs she's been fighting all along. There is something of a "conclusion"... however, it just doesn't feel "done".
This feels a lot like a television show that is facing cancellation. Instead of ending the (potentially final) season with a satisfying ending... they end it on a cliffhanger, hopeful that the network will re-up just to get an ending. It didn't work with ALF... maybe it'll work here?
So, what do we have here anyway? We learn all about Violet's time with Jane at Gather House, and just why Jane feels so guilty... not that it stopped her from doing what she did last issue. We also learn a bit more about Mama Panic... that is to say, Violet's mother. There's definitely far more to her than meets the eye... though it isn't made clear enough for me to say exactly what her "deal" might be. She has a connection to Violet... she can "see" things, and I might be reading a bit too much into this, but she might also be a Gather House graduate (?).
Overall, I personally feel that this series ultimately became far better than it had any right to. The opening arc-and-a-half was pretty painful for me to get through... but I'm glad I stuck it out. Hopefully post-Milk Wars, we'll get a second-wave of our Young Animal pals.
Bits and Pieces:
There's an ending... of sorts. It's a bit rushed and not nearly as satisfying as I'd have hoped, however, that's likely more an indictment on the publishing schedule/plan than anything between the covers.
6.0/10
A damn shame. Mother Panic was one of my favorite new titles to come out of DC in a long time.
ReplyDeleteThe art got really ugly in the last few issues, the hands were horrifying to look at. The plot has been falling apart. It had such a promising start and I wanted to like it so much! It feels like no one was actually writing this story, just making it up issue by issue. I agree that it doesn't feel finished, it feels canceled.
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