Blackbird #6 Review

Writer: Sam Humphries / Artists: Jen Bartel, Paul Reinwand / Image Comics The opening page of Blackbird #6 prominently features the Iridium Castle, an iridescent geometric structure in the heart of Los Angeles, that looms over the more familiar urban elements. It’s truly a stunning set piece that can actually be used to describe the closing issue of Sam Humphries’s and Jen Bartel’s first Blackbird: rigidly, cleverly constructed and incredibly beautiful to look at.

The bombshell reveals from the last issue that Nina had actually died the night of the accident that had defined her life (both of her lives if we’re being technical and accurate) came out of nowhere, but with that, a lot of the narrative pieces that Humphries’ had been juggling fell perfectly into place. It explained why Marisa and Gloria were so deadest in keeping Nina separately from the Paragons. It showed off the true depth of power that magic has in this world. It even adds a proper wrinkle to the title of the series itself. All of the world building, all of the slow burn beats in the first half of the arc has ultimately paid off brilliantly. It’s a difficult gambit to balance the critical piece of plot that makes everything click to the very last issue, but Humphries succeeded in landing a poignant conclusion that works both as a self-contained story and a set up to a complex world of magical politics and other conspiracies. Now with all of that said, let me also take the time to remind the world that Jen Ba…