As the vampires are killed one by one, Jimmy and Jose wonder if they will survive to see sunrise when there is a knock on the door. We know who it can’t be, but who is it? Find out in Killadelphia #30 from Image Comics!

KILLADELPLHIA #30

Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander and Germán Erramouspe
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Editor: Greg Tumbarello
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 26, 2023

Previously in Killadelphia: The battle continues as nearly everyone we have met so far falls to General Toussaint and his army. John Adams thought that he had a second chance to found a nation and perhaps have it turn our better. The problem is that people are not perfect, and you cannot force them to be what they aren’t. One by one, the vampires have met their deaths, and even Adams cannot escape the sword.

HOPE AND DESPAIR

By the time we reach Killadelphia #30, a rhythm has been set in the storytelling. But sometimes a melody will change or modulate, and such is the case here. Of the vampire main characters, Seesaw is left. We thought we knew his story, but it turns out there is more to it. As he remembers his youth, we see the flashback, which is the story of Ray, a childhood friend. Life was tough in North Philly, but Ray was different. He always seemed happy, and he was always reading a book. Reading was his escape but also his hope. Seesaw warns him about being so happy. It makes him look different and vulnerable, and on the street, that could make him a target.

Jimmy and Jose are locked in the apartment waiting for the sunrise. There is a knock at the door. It is Nita Hawes, and she is an old friend of Jimmy’s from Baltimore. Jose can read the room and she gives them space to talk. Jimmy left Nita when he came to see his father, and plainly he has not been back since. She is not happy about that, but it isn’t important. She has her own ties to the supernatural. Her brother Jason was killed and noticed Corson leading demons to Baltimore. He came back as a ghost and got her to start the Nightmare Blog. She is pretty good at fighting demons, and she is here to stop them in Philadelphia, but she needs Jimmy’s help.

Seesaw’s fears are realized when Ray catches the notice of Chuckie. He warns Ray to stay away from him, but Ray cannot imagine that he is a problem. Later, when they go to a local arcade, Chuckie comes in and takes Ray’s backpack. Going through it, he finds nothing but books. He burns them because he can and hits Ray. And with that, he learns that the world really is a harsh place. He loses his positive outlook and loses a huge part of himself. It is deeply tragic and deftly presented.

After Ray is gone, he leaves Seesaw one of his favorite books. Seesaw’s life gets harder. At nearly his lowest, he meets John Adams and agrees to become a vampire. Adams also trusted him with a book that contained all the secrets of the universe. Adams and his cronies could not figure it out, and assumed there was no way Seesaw would be able to.

And Seesaw proved them wrong. It took him years, but he read the book and understood it. He learned how to bend reality. He understood that everyone on earth deserves some happiness in their lives. And he has the power to withstand Toussaint and not die under his blade. But at what cost to the world?

TRYING TO MAKE IT RIGHT

Ray’s story in Killadelphia #30 is difficult and disturbing to read, but it is important to realize the kind of despair so many people suffer throughout their lives. The art goes a long way to support this. Right from the start, when we see Ray, the colors have a warm tinge as though he carries his own sunlight with him. There may be violence around him. The neighborhood he walks through shows signs of poverty. But we cannot forget that no matter how rough the circumstances, there are always people who try to see the world through the eyes of hope. Seesaw is a realist, but Ray’s hope is almost infectious, right up until the day that it comes crashing down around him. His smile disappears and the light in his life turns gray.

And Seesaw’s life goes from gray to midnight. It is no wonder he was vulnerable to becoming a vampire. He can no longer face sunlight, but in his mind, he hears Ray’s voice. He was never a reader, but that inner voice is enough to drive him to do what more educated men thought was impossible. It is a solitary pursuit, and there is a wonderfully dark panel of him alone in a dark room, subsisting on rats as he slogs through the book one page at a time. And then he has his transformation. He has not unleashed his full powers – until now.

BOTTOM LINE: KEEPS YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT

Killadelphia #30 is a fantastic ending to the arc. The previous issues set up the twist brilliantly, leaving us looking over the unexpected precipice of what happens next, because there is going to be a next and it looks marvelous. I can’t wait.

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Killadelphia #30

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Fantastic Ending

• Writing

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• Art

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• Coloring

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• User Ratings (1 Votes)
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