Are you guys ready for every character getting about two pages of story? Are you ready for a no conclusion on what’s happened to Cooper and his dad’s girlfriend, Nikki? Are you ready for what’s illustrated on the cover to not happen in the issue? Awesome, let’s get ready to rumble!
For the most part, this issue of Revival’s story does focus on the the side drama which is Cooper and Nikki getting kidnapped. This installment more or less centers around characters on the outside of the issue, namely the Martha and the Check brothers, and not so much the terror Cooper and Nicki are probably experiencing.
By the way, if you thought the Check Brothers couldn’t get any creepier, maybe you shouldn’t read this issue. Why? Because the first scene features the three digging a grave and reminiscing about how they killed their father — and it is strongly implied they buried him alive.
We then get two pages of May Tao doing journalist things, where it’s mentioned that she has a bigger story she wants to report on. Then we get about four pages of Ibrahim Ramin (who has had very little plot since the whole sleeping with Dana thing) getting caught in a bear trap at the crazy conspiracy theorist/militant gun enthusiast, Edmund Holt’s house, where we find out that guy isn’t actually all that crazy as he, despite saying very racist things to the contrary, tries to help Ramin out of rusted, old bear trap. Why is Ramin there at all? Well,turns out Ken wanted to do the Sheriff a favor and purposefully sent him there with the hopes that something bad would happen to him. The Sheriff leaves, fearing for Ramin’s safety (so, while he’s sort of good old boy racist, he’s at least a noble one). During this time, Dana is also on her way to save Ramin after he calls her. She leaves Martha at her ex’s house, and speeds off.
And here’s where it gets creepy again, because the Check brothers are back and they have Derek in their custody. Martha over hears, gets knocked out, and off she goes with the Check brothers to get buried alive with a the torso of a disemboweled man…. WHO IS STILL ALIVE.
Guess we know what the cover is about now, don’t we?
While the brothers are distracted by the alien like creature, Martha rises from the grave and succesfully murders one of the brothers with her bare hands. Unfortunately, after that, it’s to be continued, but Martha is pissed and it doesn’t look like she’s going to have any sense of mercy.
Despite the two pages of story lines that I’m inevitably going to forget when the next issues comes out in June, it was a decent issue, and continues to prove to me that this comic really should be a television show. It’s a good comic, don’t get me wrong. But a longer format would benefit it’s twists and turns a bit better. Or maybe, if I didn’t have to read it issue by issue, but rather trade by trade, which in the end isn’t a fair criticism. All comics are that way, and my issue is more with the medium (which has far more pros than cons) than the story itself.
Really, what it comes down to is that I’m excited to see what Martha is going to do, and I’m hoping for some more Ibrahim in the next issue.
Story by Tim Seely
Art by Mike Norton
