The heavy metal masterpiece from Daniel Warren Johnson, Extremity, reaches its twelfth and final issue.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Thea and her new tribe race to stop the Paznina and Roto from destroying each other. Along the way, she loses her brother Rollo. Despite a wasted effort trying to get through to their father, Rollo’s death achieves what they set out to accomplish. The new Queen of Paznina witnesses Thea’s loss and decides to stop the violence.
Daniel Warren Johnson has taken us on quite a journey through twelve issues. Thea and Rollo’s arcs have been satisfying and fully formed. This final issue, as well as the series itself, took us through twists and turns and tugged at our heart strings.
The only thing I feel we get short changed on is Thea and Rollo’s asshole father. There’s no redemption or examination of any sort. He watches one of his children die in front of him, exacts revenge, then we never see him again. It doesn’t derail the story at all, it’s just one of the stories in which there’s clearly more to explore.
Everything about Extremity is iconic, epic, and beautiful. Grand layouts and design concepts, brutal action, fully fleshed out characters fill every page. Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer have put on a stunning show for twelve issues. Rus Wooten is one of the best letterers in the business and this is one of his most pronounced bodies of work. The sound effects and letters are as crucial to these gorgeous pages as the ships and creatures are.
It’s sad to see this series go. While it’s a pretty satisfying ending, it feels like DWJ could stay in this world forever and has plenty of story left to tell. Hopefully that means he’ll be getting a new series sometime soon. He’s a strong comic book talent that shouldn’t be sitting on the shelf for long.
Extremity started as a brutal and tragic sci-fi war epic. It ended up having a lot more to say about family, tradition, and purpose. This is a limited series that shouldn’t be soon forgotten. Keep an eye out for anything Daniel Warren Johnson works on in any medium.
Goodbye Extremity, we will miss you.
