Comic Break: Ferryman #5 (DC/Wildstorm)

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Ferryman
Issue: #5
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artist: Jonathan Wayshak
32 pp. Wildstorm/DC. $3.50

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

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There’s the normal comic book violence. Like Superman fighting a Giant Cosmic Death Bunny. And then there’s the extreme, graphic, oh-my-eyes-burn-please-make-it-stop comic book violence. Like someone getting their jaw torn off, or a person getting cleaved in half by a sword (dissection by bisection?). And just when it couldn’t possibly get worse, a guy on fire gets extinguished by spurting blood. Clever, but not cliché, like urine. Yet so unsanitary.

Welcome to the extremely NC-17 world of Ferryman, where buckets of bullets fill the air and torn-off body parts double as weapons. Have arm, cause harm.

In series finale, writer Marc Andreyko and artist Jonathan Wayshak really ratchet up the sick-puppy quotient, creating an ending battle so gruesome and disturbed it would make a serial killer squeamish. Despite violence that would have John Wayne Gacy, pale as milk, burping bile, Ferryman is a delightful, over-the-top thrill ride, goofy and absolutely fun. Never meant to be taken seriously, the issue is meant to be enjoyed, granted in a sick-puppy way. Like the House of Blue Leaves scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Wayshak’s art has made the biggest impression on me over the course of the series. Like getting stomped in the mud by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. No one draws “gleefully insane” like him; all his characters are big mouths filled with gleaming white teeth. A dentist’s dream. Good flossers, no doubt. His artwork was fantastic in the first issue, and it’s steadily improved from there. Definitely a promising artist to keep on eye on in the future. (That doesn’t mean stalk the poor guy, so stay off his lawn.) I’d absolutely love to see him get a crack at doing the visuals for a 30 Days of Night series. Vampires and Wayshak, a match made in monster heaven.

Hopefully this isn’t the last we’ll see of Ferryman. Andreyko and Wayshak deserve the chance to further torment reader’s souls. They’ve made a good start in scarring my psyche. Why stop now?

Final Grade: 80 out of 100

Related Posts:
Comic Break: Ferryman #1 (DC/Wildstorm)
Comic Break: Ferryman #2 (DC/Wildstorm)
Comic Break: Ferryman #3 (DC/Wildstorm)