MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #4 – Review

In MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #4, available from Scout Comics on August 25th, 2021, Alexander and Ortensia’s relationship takes a turn when Ortensia’s reckless ways force Alexander to reconsider his future.

The Details

• Written By: Louis Southard
• Art By: David Hahn
• Colors By: Ryan Cody
• Letters By: Buddy Beaudoin
• Cover Art By: Kalman Andrasofszky
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: August 25, 2021

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Was It Good?

With a name like Midnight Western Theatre, you wouldn’t expect the narrative about a supernatural (maybe?) monster hunter and her vampire companion to turn into a sweet love story… but here we are.

This series has been an odd bird since the beginning, and now that we’ve reached the penultimate issue in the arc, it’s fair to say I have no idea where this is going to end up. Southard’s writing puts our lead characters in positively monstrous situations, facing off against otherworldly creatures, but the crux of the story always comes back to their friendship. It’s the closest I’ve seen a comic come to the X-Files while still presenting an original concept. The monster of the month concept is a little less incidental here as compared to the X-Files, but the relationship between the two leads is just as strong if not stronger.

Again, the monster-of-the-month model has been relatively incidental throughout the series, but more so in this issue, and that’s a bit of a bummer. The monster is an unstoppable “something” that simply gets dealt with offscreen, and the monster fight seems to serve no purpose other than to force Alexander and Ortensia to confront a lingering issue between them. Using a monster as a plot device can be effective, but here, the monster is so powerful that it strains credibility to treat its defeat so casually.

Put all that together and you get a little bit of a mixed bag on the writing. The relationship moments between Alexander and Ortensia are great. The flashback scenes uncovering more of Ortensia’s “origin” are very well done. But, the monster fight was lacking.

The artwork is great, especially due to the use of color filtering to give the story a faded old-time film reel look. Given the art style and time period, you could picture the story playing out on an old-fashioned Zoetrope or a silent film. The art is a perfect match for the material.

This issue has great art and strong emotional beats, but the monster fight, plot device felt like a cheap cheat to get to the relationship development.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

Before the night falls and the moon rises, read up on our MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #3 review to get caught up.

We begin with a flashback to when Ortensia was a young girl and the night of her father’s death. Nate is killed by a gang who uses his spilled blood in some sort of mystical ritual. Part of the ritual involves the (successful) sacrifice of Ortensia. The ritual does something unusual to Ortensia’s body, infusing it with energy.

Cut to now. Alexander and Ortensia are on a late-night hunt for a monster in the local cemetery. The disfigured beast possesses massive strength is appears to be invulnerable to normal, physical attacks. At first, Alexander assumes its small size makes it not worth the trouble, that is until Alexander is suddenly knocked through a mausoleum roof and flung several yards away.

Seeing how dangerous the situation has become, Alexander wants to flee but Ortensia refuses to go. The disagreement sparks an argument between the two about how much danger is acceptable and whether they’re taking needless risks that endanger their futures. Alexander leaves, unwilling to recklessly risk his existence, but Ortensia goes back to deal with the monster on her own.

Later, Ortensia catches up with Alexander at a saloon. She never says outright whether or not she defeated the monster, but they reluctantly talk about what each wants out of life. We conclude the issue with a real estate pitch, Alexander stating what he wants and doesn’t want, and an unexpected dance.

Final Thoughts

MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #4 wraps a sweet friendship story inside an Old West monster hunt. The relationship beats are sweet and impactful, and the art fits the mood of the material perfectly, but the monster hunt at the heart of this plot turns out to be little more than a convenient afterthought.

Score: 7/10