Umbral 11 Discussion / Review (Spoilers)

[El Sombrero]

I thought this was the best issue of the series in a while...absolutely the best of the arc, probably the best since early in the series. However I still wasn't really that invested in what's going on and I think I just don't care enough about the series at this point. I initially was going to drop this series after #8, then I came back for a few more, but I think I'm really done now. I can't imagine an issue dropping too many more bombs than this one did, and if I don't care here I can't imagine what would bring me back.

Significant spoilers below, stop reading if you care about spoilers











Anyway, at least things happened here. My big criticism of this arc has been that the plot has gone nowhere with the characters just kind of running away with little story progression. Here we learn Munty is a traitor to the team and part of the Kin of the Whispered Blade, which I like on the one hand because it's always kind of fun to have a sneaky mole in the group and up the danger for Rascal, but on the other hand I've never liked Munty's character at all and this isn't enough to make me care. Shayim gets an upgrade as well, as they reveal she is Rascal's protector since birth. I like that on the one hand since it gives her character more of a purpose, but like Munty I don't find her character particularly interesting and the background detail by itself probably won't change that. Rascal drastically alters her appearance and I can't say I like it. She looks much less cute and now has a real tomboyish appearance. I liked Rascal's original cute look because it contrasted well with the grotesque and terrifying Umbral monsters, and even contrasted with her own foul language and dangerous tendencies. Although I do think the appearance change was in character, because Rascal wants to show how she is more mature than people give her credit for, and she's on the run and needs to disappear. Dalone didn't really do much here, and Shayim's ex who is now palling around with the team is slightly enjoyable in a charismatic and flirtatious way, but nothing that great. I'd say on a personal level, one of the big failings of this series is that outside of Rascal and Dalone, I don't really find the supporting cast interesting at all. We also learn that Rascal's dad killed her mom (at least the Umbral says so), and they're clearly continuing to build connections between Rascal and the Umbral, but again, for me I just don't really care enough anymore.

Mitten's art remains strong but the coloring was much darkier and muddier than I am used to from this series. It was somewhat appropriate for all the dark revelations in this issue, but far less attractive for the reading experience.

The opening issues of this series had much better pacing and felt groundbreaking with how magic was portrayed via artwork and lettering. The Umbral were a legitimately terrifying presence and the individual villains (Jinglefingers, the prince) were a lot more memorable and enjoyable. The series feels like it's played its best cards already and I'm just bored with it. It's very hard for series to stay thrilling for readers month-in and month-out, and I still feel this is an overall good comic book, but personally I think I am done with it.