Luke Owen reviews the final issue of Chris Ryall’s The Hollows…
Everything has gone wrong, and the growing mass of Hollows threatens even the tenuous security that the residents of the tree-cities thought they had. In this concluding issue, Ryall and Kieth might leave nothing but a scorched earth in their wake.
Read the previous issue review here.
After a superb first issue, a middle-of-the-road second and interesting third, Chris Ryall’s The Hollows comes to a close in a fantastic style.
The Hollows has always contained great writing from Ryall but this conclusion absolutely nails it. The dialogue is kept to a minimum as the whole issue is told mostly through narration and it flows so beautifully from panel to panel. The story, while incredibly simple, is so tight and it keeps you on your toes.
It’s a beautiful denouement to the story of our hero. The disjointed scientist who created a mess and ultimately has to pay the price for it. But in his end, he gives new life and hope to the troubled Lani and shows that she can trust people, even in this tortured world. As I said before, the story doesn’t try anything new or radical, but what it does is tell this simple story with expert precision.
What helps is that, unlike The High Ways, The Hollows is written like a four-issue story as opposed to squeezing in ten issues worth of writing into a short timeframe. Each issue is extremely well paced and this final addition is no exception, making it an easy and enjoyable read.
I wasn’t really a fan of Sam Keith’s artwork as at times it just looks unfinished, but it works so well with this story. To be honest, I’m not sure I could imagine anyone else working on this with Ryall. The two’s efforts have paid off in what has been a really decent four-issue miniseries.
If you’ve been following The Hollows then you will find this final issue very satisfying. It’s been building up to this moment and it doesn’t disappoint. If you’ve not read them however, pick it up when it comes out on trade.
Luke Owen is one of the co-editors of Flickering Myth and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @CGLuke_o.
Originally published March 21, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
