As much as I love how new and innovative ‘Trillium’ is with its formatting, it certainly felt like this issue went a little too far. In the first issue, you had to stories upside down from one another meeting in the middle. Then you had a few normally laid out comics, and last issue you had to read the top half before flipping it over to read the bottom half, effectively making the story line come full circle. Up until now, I never really felt like it was a gimmick, but a new and interesting way to get across ideas.
This issue, however, had me flipping my issue this way and that, and I was never really sure if I was reading it right. For those of you who haven’t gotten to it, I’ll give you a hint: When something is upside down, flip it. Read that page normally, and then flip to the next page even if it feels backwards.
The story carries on from last issue, with Nika and William living each other’s lives, only now they have the memories from their real lives in their mind. Separately, yet oddly together through similarity of spirit, the two work their way towards where they first met, presumably so they can get back to their real lives.
That’s it. Well, other than a nice flashback for Nika that let’s us know a little bit more about her relationship with her mother (which has been hinted as a big deal in the previous issues).
Though I am underwhelmed by this issue, it’s still decent, and I think that the next one will provide the closure I need for questions like “why did random alternate universe happen and why does it matter?”. We’ll just have to see what Lemire has in store for us next issue.
TRILLIUM #6
Art and Story by Jeff Lemire
