In MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #5, available from Scout Comics on September 22nd, 2021, the end is the beginning is the end as Ortensia rises from her sacrifice to become a renowned monster hunter who encounters a lonely vampire in a cave years later.
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: September 22, 2021
Wait! Don’t Forget To Sign Up For The Comical Opinions Newsletter.
It’s 100% FREE. Sign up NOW!
Was It Good?
This is the last issue in this arc (possibly the series) and it’s a strange one. It’s strange because this last issue reads and ends like a prologue or 0 issue you might pick up to preview the series. The creators are giving readers an issue-long “this is how it all started” moment that shows you how the unlikely partners got together. That said, the issue ends with several plot threads left dangling, deflating the satisfaction factor.
To be fair, the story isn’t necessarily bad. It simply feels out of place. There’s no over-arching conflict or big bad villain of this series as each issue has been fairly self-contained. The only throughline is the mystery around who or what Ortensia really has become. Is she a witch? Is she a supernatural being? Is she a vessel of dark magic? Ortensia’s origin is the only plot point that loosely connects all the issues together, and that throughline doesn’t conclude. The arc ends with a flashback and no clarity around Ortensia’s “state”, so again, this issue feels out of place or incomplete.
That said, what story there is to be had in this issue is sincere and sweet, echoing back to the previous issue with Ortensia and Andrew agreeing to settle down. We see how their relationship began, and how Andrew’s kind heart softens Ortensia’s heart, hardened by 15 years of hunting and killing all manner of beasties. If you’re looking for writing that expertly shows a relationship between two people who care about each other, this is it.
The art by Hahn is consistently good. Hahn gets to show off Andrew in a feral, hermit-like state and it fits the situation nicely. The one, minor down point is the lack of shadows on some of the panels when the lighting calls for it. Figures standing in a firelit cave should cast harsh shadows on the ground to feel like the characters are integrated into the setting. Sometimes you get the shadows, sometimes you don’t and it makes the scenes feel a little off.
Overall, it’s a sweet, heartfelt issue, but it’s nothing more than an extended flashback, and the central mystery of the arc is barely addressed and not at all concluded.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
To see the end before you read about the beginning, first read our MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #4 review.
We begin with Ortensia, as a young girl, rising after her sacrifice and the ritual that appears to go wrong. Her hair’s changed from blond into jet black with a white streak we’ve seen throughout the series, and she wanders into the wounds where she encounters a stranger named Sarah.
Fifteen years later, Ortensia stands at the mouth of a cave, pointing a gun at its lone occupant. The person inside, Andrew the vampire, looks like a scraggly hermit. Ortensia has come to kill him for drinking the blood of goats owned by local ranchers. Before she kills him, Andrew begs for a last request — to tell his story.
Andrew was a hapless soldier during the Revolutionary War. As his regiment trudged through the wintry woods, he got separated and spent the night in the freezing elements, resigning himself to a slow death. Suddenly, he wakes up in a warm cabin being cared for by a strange woman. When Andrew mistakes the strange woman’s care for affection, the woman bites him with sharp fangs and drinks Andrew’s blood.
We conclude the issue with Andrew’s tale of escape, his decision to live with what he will and won’t do to survive, and Ortensia making an offer.
Final Thoughts
MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE #5 is filled with sweet and heartfelt moments to show how Ortensia and Andrew first met, but the one thread holding the series together is almost completely ignored. The art’s great. The character interactions are emotionally solid. But this issue feels out of place and incomplete for the end of the arc.
Score: 7.5/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com