Rachel Rising Volume 4 Review: Flashbacks, and Freakouts
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Guess what? Guess what?! Rachel doesn’t die in this volume of ‘Rachel Rising’ by Terry Moore! Instead, she is busy with her attempts to ensure aunt Johnny can be brought back to life and evil Lilith can perhaps be sent back to hell.
Also Read: Rachel Rising Volume 3 Review
Titled ‘Winter Graves’, Volume 4 opens with a centuries-old flashback to Rachel’s past life as a young girl named Bryn Erin, raised by strict religious parents who were unhappy with Lilith’s attempts to play mentor to their daughter. Ultimately, Bryn and several other women were accused of witchcraft and murdered. In the present timeline, Rachel finally remembers some snippets of her past life too. And in a weird twist, someone she knew from back then, wakes up in her friend Jet’s body.
Like the past few issues, this volume of ‘Rachel Rising‘ also unfolds in a snowstorm, the chilly weather brought on by Lilith, not nature. The atmospheric eeriness of a deadly winter is fantastically depicted through Terry Moore’s artwork. The characters are constantly wading through thick snow, going about their strange adventures to understand their undead experience and stop Lilith from destroying their town. But one of Rachel’s offbeat missions now includes “find the dog and revive Aunt Johnny,” because she captures her aunt’s soul inside a dog when she dies.
While slightly slow in parts, at least these issues of ‘Rachel Rising’ offers some new sub-plots, courtesy of the centuries-old flashback showing what happened to Rachel in her past life. As the young Bryn Erin, she experiences hardships, heartbreak, and untold tragedy. As these memories of an old life come back to the protagonist, she also remembers where to find a mystery box full of supernatural tricks to help her.
Rachel once again crosses paths with the evil little Zoey, who’s trying to escape in a vehicle that won’t start. In possibly the most hilarious exchange in ‘Rachel Rising’, Zoey threatens to murder Rachel and her friends, but freaks out when she realizes they’re already dead and starts screaming, “Help! I’m being carjacked by zombies!” Actually, that’s easily my favorite panel in the entire comic book series so far, seeing the serial-killer brat scream in anxiety.
The last few pages of volume 4 feature a violent, supernatural face-off between Lilith and Rachel, so expect some blood, surprises, and deaths. Overall, this was definitely an entertaining edition, despite a choppy pace.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. ‘Rachel Rising‘ is also on Kindle Unlimited.
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