Gasolina #4 Review

Writer:Sean Mackiewicz / Artist: Niko Walter / Image Comics I love it when a plan comes together, and Gasolina has been on the slow burn campaign trail since day one. Issue #4 keeps the simmer going while adding a couple more pots and pans to the mix. Analogies aside (or on the back burner, so to speak) the clarity and simplicity of the storytelling in this most recent issue make issue #3 look muddled as all hell in retrospect. The horror/crime/action/dramedy has the ability to be too damn much to sift through sometimes. Especially in a book packed with hella questions and very few (to flat-out no) answers. However, in Gasolina #4 we see some of the loose ends start to tie together. This kind of narrative cohesion shines light on the true potential of Sean Mackiewicz’s world-building abilities. Rest assured, shit comes together nicely.

On top of it all, there is a real gift given to readers to find a book absolutely devoid of stereotypes, set in a Latin-speaking country, with original storytelling, and the gall to write a story with a bunch of slowly moving pieces. Just putting that out there. Without spoiling the good parts of the book, all of the characters’ intentions and driving forces are brought to the forefront in issue #4. It’s a good, slow burn of a book and story arc. But I’ve got to say, it reaches a point where all of its tension is at max capacity. If readers are not rewarded with a payoff for staying with Mackiewicz and Walter’s journey through to here, there m…