Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden
Artist: Patric Reynolds, Dave Stewart (Colours)
Release Date: 2nd March 2016

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Any collaboration between Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden was always going to be a winner, and Joe Golem: Occult Detective has lived up to the high expectations that came with it, due to the talent involved in its splendid creation. This series has been absolute blast from the very beginning, and the final issue of this current arc is everything you could possibly want it to be if you’re a fan.

In the previous issue, we were introduced to the new story ‘The Sunken Dead’, and it showed what happens when lovelorn, lonely occultist scholars do when they get their hands on ancient spell books containing rituals with the power to bring their deceased family back to the realm of the living. As the dead rose from their watery graves, Joe’s blossoming romance was put on hold, meanwhile another group of ancient occult practitioners set out to find the book for their own reasons.

It was the beginning of an intriguing new mini-story – and a natural continuation of the previous one – to bring the first arc to an action-packed end, and suffice to say it’s capped off brilliantly. There has been a consistent narrative present throughout this series, and each new episode is a fleshed out natural successor to what came before.

In this issue, the zombie smackdown is in full effect, while the intensified nightmares of a bygone time where witches reigned still dominate Joe’s dreams. His mentor, Simon Church, has known the meaning of these dreams all throughout the series, and he hasn’t been willing to shed true light of Joe’s curiosities regarding them. Here, the dreams become more revealing and vivid, and hint towards a past Joe isn’t supposed to remember.

This doesn’t do anything to answer our many questions. In fact, when it’s all said and done you’ll find yourself with even more. But this series is heading in an intriguing and very exciting direction, and the future looks promising for our favourite occult detective.

Rating: 5/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Kieran Fisher
Kieran Tweets from @HairEverywhere_

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