The Unexpected #6 - DC Comics

THE UNEXPECTED No. 6, January 2019

Arguably providing an intriguing insight as to just what fuels Onimar Synn’s demonic body, rather than "DC Comics" publicised “showdown at Castle Frankenstein with the souls of Berlin on the line”, Steve Orlando’s storyline for Issue Six of “The Unexpected” probably pleased the majority of its rapidly diminishing 8,462 strong audience in November 2018. In fact, the opening half of this twenty-page periodical makes for a pretty enthralling experience as Colin Nomi seemingly defies all the odds by allowing himself to be swallowed whole by the ancient Thanagarian devil in order to successfully rescue Firebrand’s soul from an eternity incarcerated inside an Nth Metal prison.

Admittedly, the idea of Neon the Unknown somehow surviving the self-same journey “within the Bones of Onimar Synn” which has cost the lives of so many other entities across the centuries is a little difficult to believe, especially when its soon becomes clear that the realm into which the “infamous Burnside artist” finds himself can only be accessed “through the void in Synn’s hand.” But the sincerity in the blind atheist’s involuntary action to follow Janet Fals straight ‘down the rabbit hole’ provides this comic with a nice, touching moment as to just how important the former paramedic’s friendship has become to the matter manipulator; “Say you’ll fight your way back out with me. I acted on instinct following you…”

Unfortunately however, once Nomi and Firebrand literally tear themselves free from inside Onimar’s horrifically mutilated torso, the same praise can’t debatably be bestowed upon the rest of this book’s plot, with the heroes’ sudden arrival on “the Homeworld of Frankenstein’s teachers” seemingly ending on a ‘to be continued’ cliff-hanger with a little over a third of the publication left to peruse. This splash page shocker depicting “the most important tombstone in the DC Multiverse” is definitely impactive, yet somewhat smacks of this comic’s pacing being badly at odds with its page count, particularly when the self-same scene is oddly recapped just a dozen panels later as if the first illustration was originally intended to end the magazine..?

Disappointingly adding to this book’s aura of inconsistency are Ronan Cliquet’s layouts. Initially doing an excellent job of injecting the sense-shattering shenanigans of Colin’s captivating quest inside Synn’s body with plenty of dynamic drama and tension, the Brazilan artist’s prodigious pencilling takes a noticeable downward decline in quality for a short while after the aforementioned grave marker, almost as if he was suddenly required to add the Bad Samaritan’s resurrection at the last minute as a filler…

Storytellers: Ronan Cliquet & Steve Orlando, and Colors: Jeromy Cox