Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Guiu Vilanova
Release Date: April 9, 2014

Trevor Richmond had it all, then lost it all, leaving behind a trail of ruined businesses, damaged relationships and criminal charges. He escaped into a new identity, free of consequences, only to find someone else living in his old identity…someone who is doing a much better job at it than he ever did. And now Trevor wants his life back. The final confrontation between two men fighting for one life comes to its fiery conclusion…and only one of them will survive.

It’s odd that this particular story ends in issue four, but I suppose things in The Twilight Zone aren’t “normal”. J. Michael Straczynski, Guiu Vilanova, and Vinicius Andrade work together to craft a great final act, and much like the last issue Johnny Ross carries a lot of the emotional weight of the story. The flashbacks help to sell Johnny’s remaining three years and the transition into the present is so well executed it feels like you’re watching a movie unfold. From there it crescendos into the inevitable showdown between Johnny and Trevor in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. Readers of the series will find the ending to this arc more than satisfactory.

The story’s theme is about balance as Johnny and Trevor are opposite sides of the same coin. Even though Roy Chambers, Jack Black, and his dead son’s story are included in the beginning of the issue it’s not as distracting as Diana’s explosive epilogue, which creates an uneven ending to the story. Proving these stories didn’t necessarily need to be weaved into the main story as early as they were or at all – at least at this point.

Straczynski and Vilanova built a world where characters can vanish and reappear, and as fascinating as that is I don’t know if it can sustain reader’s attention for two “lesser” characters. Not to say they can’t come up with interesting stories but these characters and stories don’t seem rich enough to warrant further exploration in Trevor’s world. Strap in folks, we’re going to be in Trevor’s world for a little while longer or not according to Diana’s vision.

Update: if you don’t mind the last page saying to be continued you should pick up first of this series because it has everything an original Twilight Zone story needs.

Rating: 3/5.

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The writer of this piece is:

Laurence Almalvez
Laurence has previously written over at Whatculture.com.
Laurence tweets from @IL1511