Shatterstar #4

The fourth issue of this limited series is out now!  Tim Seeley, Carlos Villa, Gerardo Sandoval, and Carlos Lopez continue this excellent series following everyone’s favourite gladiator turned landlord.

The Cover

Yasmine Putri’s cover features Shatterstar and Gringrave facing off.  It’s a mean looking engagement, and the looks on the characters faces tells that only one of them will survive the encounter.  The battle takes place in front of a stark white background, broken only by a couple of shadows.  The title of the book is subdued in the bottom corner, with a banner across the top commemorating the great Stan Lee.  It’s a great looking cover, and the subdued writing lets the art really sell the book.

The Art

The book’s interior looks great, and continues to use two artists and styles effectively.  Carlos Villa handles the present day scenes, and Gerardo Sandoval handles the flashbacks.  I really enjoyed the art in this book, especially the first page, which focuses on Tina Cooke’s final moments.  Three panels on the page zoom in on her eyes, and we can slowly see as life fades from them.  It looked great and had a lot of emotional impact when combined with the narration that accompanied them.  Finally, the issue ends with a bang, and that last page looks amazing.

The Story

This issue picks up right where the last issue ends, with Tina Cooke slowly fading away after losing her battle with Xeus.  Shatterstar quickly enters the arena, and faces off against the Death Sponsors.  After dispatching them he faces off against Gringrave in one hell of a final battle.  The climax of the fight is well written, and incredibly well drawn.  It also showcases how capable and cunning of a warrior Shatterstar really is.

I won’t give away the end of the issue, but it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how this one ends.  The final scene was one of the most impressive looking pages I’ve seen, and I’m really curious to see how Tim Seeley goes forward with the series.

If you haven’t been reading this book, it’s really worth picking up, and as this is a fast-moving and action packed issue, I’d even recommend it for a casual reader.