Gillen goes the way that I hoped that he would go here, where Teddy decides that it's somewhat irrelevant whether Billy is causing him to be in love because he is, after all, in love. Actually, I'm going to use the actual quote here, because it's so remarkably excellent: "A magical power someone else has over you for no reason you can really justify but cascades through you until every cell calls out for his touch? What do you think love is?" That line, people. That line justifies why I read comics. Western literature has dedicated millions, if not billions, of pages to explore the meaning of love, but Kieron Gillen gets it righter than anyone. At the end of the day, love is when you're a hybrid alien deciding that he's no longer worried whether his mutant boyfriend who serves as a magical messiah is forcing him to love him because the end result is still the same. Props to David for realizing that. Moreover, props to David for admitting that he didn't admit it earlier because he wanted to know what that feels like.
But, it's not all happy endings when it comes to love. As painful as it was, I loved Noh-Varr confessing to Kate that Oubliette is the woman of his dreams. It's such a real moment. In fact, in some ways, it's that moment that allows us to appreciate the Billy and Teddy moment, since it reminds us how special the love that they have is (as terribly cheesy as that sounds). In fact, given David, Noh-Varr, and Loki's confessions, this issue might as well be titled, "Honesty."
But, it's not all happy endings when it comes to love. As painful as it was, I loved Noh-Varr confessing to Kate that Oubliette is the woman of his dreams. It's such a real moment. In fact, in some ways, it's that moment that allows us to appreciate the Billy and Teddy moment, since it reminds us how special the love that they have is (as terribly cheesy as that sounds). In fact, given David, Noh-Varr, and Loki's confessions, this issue might as well be titled, "Honesty."
The rest of this issue is equally spectacular. America is a force of nature here and I can't wait to learn more about her. Loki realizes that he really did sub-consciously create Leah and the League of Exes as a result of his guilty conscience. But, it's not as easy for him to shake loose that guilt, because he's not the same old Loki that he used to be. You need no more proof of that than the fact that he's inspired to confess his evil deeds when America saves his life, sacrificing her powers (at least temporarily) in the process.
So, love saves the day. We still have questions. I mean, if Billy's not the Demiurge right now, when will he become it? After all, in the amazing sequence drawn by Kelvie, where he's walking on the pages of previous issues giving birth to the past and present, we see him essentially decide not to become lord of all reality. He seems to shelve that power for now, but where does it go? Will Loki make a play for it? Speaking of Loki, what does a carbon copy of an original evil do? Should he watch "Blade Runner?"
I'm just letting you all know that I'm going to be devastated when this series ends in a few issues. We have so much here, so much potential, and it's just really sad that it's not going to be realized. I'm just left hoping characters like Miss America manage to show up somewhere else. Fingers crossed.
***** (five of five stars)
I'm just letting you all know that I'm going to be devastated when this series ends in a few issues. We have so much here, so much potential, and it's just really sad that it's not going to be realized. I'm just left hoping characters like Miss America manage to show up somewhere else. Fingers crossed.
***** (five of five stars)
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