Hinterkind vol. 3: The Hot Zone

It’s actually been a while since I’ve followed a Vertigo series that was cut down before it could finish its run.  Yet here we are with the third and final volume of “Hinterkind,” a title about the creatures of myth reclaiming the world from humans after an apocalyptic plague known as the Blight.  We get to learn about the origins of the plague and get a glimpse at what life was like before and during the time humans were being wiped out in the title story.  For a two-part tale, it’s quite well put together by writer Ian Edginton and artist Francisco Trifogli, covering a fairly large cast and timeframe without feeling too rushed.  Not only does it flesh out existing cast members like rogue Jon Hobb and Asa the doctor, but it also sets up how America became “America” in the first arc.  It’s good stuff that reads like it was planned before the axe came down.

I mention that because the rest of the volume is almost pure “We gotta wrap this up now!” storytelling.  It all centers around a battle that brews and flares between the Sidhe and the Skinlings that at least introduces a memorable antagonist, Psamira, for what it’s worth.  Though the jumping between the cast works as well as it usually does, everything gets considerably more rushed until the very end when a dragon settles the conflict in his own way.  The final three pages take us through what feel like Edginton’s grand plans for the series.  Even if there’s no way that the way they’re presented could truly feel satisfying, I’m at least glad he offered them up for reasons of closure if nothing else.

Even if his dialogue never really crackled, Edginton did bring us some likeable and interesting characters in this series and developed a fascinating world in the space he had.  Trifogli wasn’t big on flash, but it was easy to appreciate the detail in his work as he made the difficult task of illustrating a ruined world populated by lots of different creatures (and humans) look easy.  He’d be a great fit for a project in the Mignolaverse over at Dark Horse, though I’m sure the artist will do well wherever he winds up.  I wish we had more, but even with its abbreviated end I’m glad with the “Hinterkind” that we got.