Girls Volume 4 TP Extinction NM 1st print Luna Brothers Image Comics

Description

Girls, Vol. 4: Extinction (v. 4) Paperback by Jonathan Luna (Author, Cover Design, Artist), Joshua Luna (Author, Artist)

The people of Pennystown struggle to find their way out of an alien bubble that separates their town from the rest of the world. But first, the men must overcome temptations of the beautiful clones that are quickly spreading throughout the town and exterminating the women. In this final installment of four volumes, we learn the final fate of Pennystown and their enigmatic invaders.

Collects Girls 19-24 (final volume)

Paperback: 168 pages

The basic scenario here isn’t uncommon, particularly among slasher movies: people are cut off from the rest of civilization and are exposed to a growing, inescapable horror. (Full marks to the Luna boys: the specific horror in this case — the horde of identical gorgeous naked alien girls — is pretty unique.) But the truly fascinating aspect of the Pennystown tragedy is the way in which its residents respond. There are heroic moments, sure, and maybe even one or two genuine heroes, but for the most part people react with fear. Anger. Lust, obviously. Isolation. Suspicion. Hatred — sometimes directed at the alien girls, sometimes directed at their friends and neighbors. There is unspeakable violence, and it’s not always directed at the enemy.

This final volume of the Girls series resolves it well – or, well enough. The sense of frenzy had been building up to this point, with mob rule taking increasingly brutal measures against suspect members of the community. The mob has fragmented, so everyone’s suspect, and the brutality reaches startling levels. This paints a depressingly accurate picture of how so many people respond to an enemy they can’t defeat: they turn on each other.

This does come to an end, though. The Girls are exterminated completely, so whatever their threat might have been, it’s gone. What happens next would be a spoiler, so I leave it to you to find out for yourself. Although it does offer some kind of closure, this ending doesn’t wholly block the way to sequels.

“Extinction” doesn’t answer all my questions, but it puts a satisfying conclusion on a tense, page-turner of a series. And “Girls,” gratuitous nudity notwithstanding, is an excellent read, boasting fine storytelling and art as well as character development far beyond the norm. Great job, guys!

978-1-58240-790-6

Collects Girls 19-24. Near mint, 1st printing.