I thought that this series could not get any worse... it did! This series has been a complete disappointment and I don't really see where it's going.
Gordon and Merril had infiltrated a sex cult, but were discovered and Gordon was murdered. Merril was then raped and left for a mysterious creature. Merril has been having multiple sex encounters with the creature over quite some time. She hallucinates about a Lovecraftian city named R'yleh and then the creature escapes the “dungeon” with her.
Alan Moore (Watchmen) has really struggled with pacing in this mini-series. It is probably a hurdle with all mini-series knowing the perfect balance, but this has been all over the place. Within this issue basically nothing happens. Ok, so Merril is shown that Lovecraftian mythos is real and that her higher ups are slowly understanding connections, but it leaves too much to happen for the next (last) issue. What little dialogue there is here reads as average and nothing special.
Whereas this issue does not contain the same explicit content as the previous, some of the scenes just seemed completely pointless. Maybe just shown to fill up some of the pages? What little dialogue there is in this issue was poorly executed as well. A lot just seemed to be explaining the obvious as though the audience may have recently taken a hit to the head.
On the other hand Jacen Burrows continues to please with his artwork and I truly think it is the saving piece of this series. In subtle ways he has made improvements from his work on “Crossed”. He truly is skilled in drawing people, almost cartoon like but with realistic touches. Another point whether he designed the creature or not, his work on it is very well done and convincing in a way it does not look out of place. Burrows does another stunning job with background art as well, nicely detailed almost like a cartooned photograph. It take a little time to truly take it all in and appreciate.
Juanmar Studios once again do the coloring for this issue. All I can really say is wow. Both shading and the water are done very well, making each panel an artwork in itself.
This issue has just been another let down in a series that has continued to disappoint. Moore does not show the same talent he had in works such as Watchmen and V For Vendetta, granted Neonomicon is a very different style of narrative, it falls short of his previous work. Though I have made it this far and I will read and review the final issue and here's to hoping it picks up and ends with a bang.
Story - 4.0
Overall Plot - 4.5
Artwork - 8.0
Colors - 8.0
Total - 6.1
