Customer Reviews

Crossing Midnight Vol. 3: The Sword in the Soul

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Have you ever felt that an ending was forced? If not, you might experience that sensation upon finishing volume 3 of Vertigo's Crossing Midnight series.

In this volume, the story is brought to its "epic" conclusion. Wait, "conclusion". That's better. There's also a lead-in for Crossing Midnight: The Sequel at the end. This series gave me great hope, and barely, if at all, manages to deliver in this volume.

The series as a whole has been compared to Fables with a Japanese twist, or as American style horror with a Japanese theme. I compare it, more accurately I think, to a Japanese Sandman, as Mike Carey also wrote the spinoff series Lucifer as a companion to Sandman. (not that Lucifer in any way measures up to, or even matches the tone of Sandman, but that's not the point...) In Crossing Midnight, though, Carey has found his vocation, introducing and interweaving Japanese mythology and American storytelling. It gives an appropriate, fresh, eerie feel to the title.

At first, not knowing this was the final volume, I was shocked to read the back touting it as the "conclusion" to the series. It seemed to offer so much more, to be paced for the long run, not a limp to the finish. Apparently, to my chagrin, the series had only been planned as 19 issues, however, and this was it.

In this volume five different artists try to match the verve of Jim Fern, the original artist. Though credited, he does not seem to contribute to this volume. The art, at best, seems blurry and unfinished in comparison to the sharp, distinctive style of the first two volumes. The story, well, rushes to its "conclusion" (its in quotes throughout the review for a reason, folks.) and mushes the battle to end all battles, comprising infinite spirits, the heroes, a dragon god, the god of death, and the god of swords, into about 3/4 of an issue. Talk about poor pacing; a battle with that much foreshadowing and hype would require at least three issues to even begin to give the appropriate feel one would think. (See Milton's Paradise Lost.) This is not to be, however. The fountain has run dry. One of the protagonists, I'm not telling which one, loses all sympathy and character development for purposes of plot, the battle takes place in what could be 15 minutes, and the art is blurry the whole time. You may still want to buy this volume, but don't pay full price.


You sure didn't get a full story.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "Crossing Midnight" is the best Vertigo series in years--at least since "Fables". It's too bad that it met with a chilly reception from fans. Is it because it looked like a manga book but was marketed as a horror story? "The Blade in the Soul" concludes the series brilliantly. Hats off to Mike Carey et al for a story well-told.