Gideon Falls vol. 3: Stations of the Cross

The last time I reviewed a volume of this title, I mentioned that Andrea Sorrentino’s art was what really made this series.  That continues to be true here in vol. 3 as we follow a couple of different plot threads there.  The first and longest of them involves one of the posse who went to confront supernatural killer Norton Sinclair in the Black Barn:  Father Burke. While his comrades perished, Burke winds up following Norton on a surreal trip through time. Not space, though. Whether it’s a small desert town, a steampunk haven, or a fascist metropolis, he always finds himself in Gideon Falls.

Sorrentino has no problem giving us several distinct versions of the title city.  While that’s impressive in itself, it’d be even more so if there were some architectural or stylistic consistency between each version.  Still it’s forgivable in the way that the artist keeps ratcheting up the surrealism as Burke chases Norton and shows him one unreal sight after another.  It’s honestly surprising that Burke was able to hold onto his sanity through all this. Not quite as surprising as the revelation as to how he actually fits into the series’ mythos which asks us to accept that it happened without providing a real explanation as to how.

I’m putting that flub down to writer Jeff Lemire having too much fun coming up with things for Sorrentino to draw.  As for the final two issues, the writer devotes one each to showing us what happened to Father Quinn and the Norton Sinclair who switched places in their Gideon Falls.  Both feature more enthusiastically disorienting art, and they even manage to advance the overall plot a bit too. Still, I’m increasingly being left with the feeling that “Gideon Falls” main legacy will be its cementing of Sorrentino as an incredible artistic talent than that it told an interesting story.