The Tormented Issue #5 Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Even though this final issue of The Tormented by Chuck Austen (story) and Patrick Olliffe (art) is a little chaotic, it is still pretty entertaining. Most importantly, it ends with a promise of a whole new season, which I would be very happy to read.
Issue #5 follows protagonist Ryan Auster and his ghost-busting TV crew as they fight a horde of dangerous spirits, including Ryan’s dead dad. Ryan is key to opening a portal that divides the real world from the paranormal realm, which is why several ghastly entities are after him. With the odds monumentally stacked against them, can the crew ward off the deadly ghosts or become one of them?
I wish this finale hadn’t been just 25 pages like the others because the conclusion feels rushed, simplistic, and a little too easy. The blood, gore, and terror featured in this issue aren’t as strong. Regardless of some climactic flaws, the artwork by Patrick Olliffe in The Tormented remains fantastic until the end. Also, I love how Chuck Austen slips in a homage to Ghostbusters, with one of the crew members screaming, “I ain’t afraid of no ghost,” while preparing to fight for their lives. Besides, who doesn’t love a full-blown ‘humans versus monsters’ confrontation in a horror series?
Chuck Austen delivers a very likable protagonist in the form of Ryan, a handsome young man with a kind heart and an awful past, combined with the burden of carrying the legacy of his parents, who were famous paranormal experts. The finale of The Tormented ends with a fun, bloodied panel, where Ryan faces one of the many ghosts who haunt him, and one can only hope to see more of his eerie adventures in a Volume 2.
Rating: 4 on 5. ‘The Tormented’ is also on Kindle Unlimited.
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