Mary Medina has opted to leave her life as Mystere in favor of a more peaceful lifestyle. However, she is drawn back into that life when mysterious deaths begin to appear around the city of New Orleans. Find out what happens in Mystere #4 by Zenescope Entertainment!
MYSTERE #4 (OF 5): REVELATION AND RESURRECTIONS
Writer: Ben Meares
Artist: Eman Casallos
Colorist: Ceci De La Cruz
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Kellie Supplee
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 4th, 2019
Previously in Mystere: The mysterious Blacksmith has been behind the murders of New Orleans and Mary has returned to the persona of Mystere to try and figure out who is helping him. After engaging with the Blacksmith, Mystere gives him the death’s kiss to no success. However she finds a lead and heads back to New Dawn Homeless Shelter to question John Doe and his situation with the Blacksmith.
THE DARK TRUTH
Mary Medina is heading to New Dawn to get to the bottom of the murders around New Orleans. Heading into John Doe’s room, she turns into Mystere and tries to get the mute man to explain himself. Unable to talk, he leads Mary to Abigail’s office and opens a secret door that reveals a hidden sanctum. Sorting through the room, she learns that Abigail is planning to use John Doe’s body to place the soul of the Blacksmith into him. With a new body, Abigail can return the Blacksmith to his wife and as a reward will receive the key to immortality. Mary realizes that John Doe is a victim and tries to free him. However, Abigail arrives and reveals that Mystere is the key to transferring the Blacksmith’s soul to John Doe. Blacksmith then uses his hammer and knocks Mystere out, taking her to the place that the ritual will occur.
EXCITING TWIST
I enjoy the tragedy of the Mystere comic and watching our protagonist navigate through it. For this issue, the tragedy is the reveal that John Doe is not an evil person but rather a person who has to live as a prisoner. How frustrating it must be to go through this ordeal and unable to speak to free yourself. Additionally, the book has a theme that the people in this homeless shelter are the people who are forgotten. The series has done everything to make sure that the theme is still relevant four issues in. This consistency makes me happy and I look forward to seeing how this wraps up in the conclusion of the arc.
This is a solid middle issue. The writing builds tension as the truth of this mystery is revealed to readers. It has a lot of elements of a crime detective story and blends into the genre of superhero with great expertise. The art is also very dynamic and the stand out image was the detail of the floor symbol of the New Dawn on the first page. You can see the water splashing in the puddles and Mary’s shadow as she crosses it. Beautiful imagery. I also enjoyed the different color changes that distinguishes the past from the present. My only complaint here is the action with the blacksmith at the end of the book. I wanted that fight to be a couple more pages as we see Mystere’s ability and appreciate the encounter a little more. But to add that page is to take information from another page away and I’m not sure what would be the best decision here.
BOTTOM LINE: LOTS OF INTENSITY
I like this story very much. It takes a rather simple plot and portrays it well and thoroughly. A lot of books try to put a lot of information in a few issues while this book takes a little information and explains it with finesse and expertise. It was well done and has a strong recommendation from me. 4.5 out of 5 for Mystere #4!
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Mystere #4
A lot of books try to put a lot of information in a few issues while this book takes a little information and explains it with finesse and expertise.
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Writing
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Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com