This is it. The end. Finito. No more. It is always sad and hard when a series that you love ultimately reaches the final curtain. All you can hope for is that your faith in loyal years and epic number of words read will be rewarded and it will leave you warm and fuzzy for several days after.
There is a lot of pressure as from day one Yorick has had a definite goal in mind. Will he achieve this and how will he cope if he does or indeed does not. Is it really going to end in a happily ever after or is the writer going to take a risk and pull one last surprise out of the bag. Both. Some characters achieve happy endings, some don’t make it to the finish line and the ending, whilst satisfying, is not what you expect. Through some clever use of the timeline the author is able to prolong the suspense just that little bit further.
The art and most notably the colouring is spectacular. Finally in the home straight all the stops have been pulled out to make for some incredibly beautiful pictures. There are some iconic images of Paris and some unexpected ones too. This concluding volume both satisfies and surprises yet leaves you wondering what would have happened if things had been different. It is time to join the writer in saying “alas poor Yorick…” Time for a final Thumbs Up!
61/304.
Tomorrow: Our Cancer Year – Harvey Pekar