B.A.R. Maid #5 Review

The finale of this mini-series is here, but does it go out the right way? Read on to find out.

The official description from Zenescope:

Cassidy leads the final showdown between the rebels and the Japanese Imperial Army. As the secret weapon the Japanese have been working on is finally uncovered, our heroes find themselves in a dilemma that they cannot possibly escape.

Since the beginning of this volume fans have contented with an odd yet corny tale. But despite that fact I have to say the ending takes the proverbial cake. The creative team, instead of wrapping it all up in a historical bow have sent the title spiraling toward something else entirely. And with that result in mind all that needs to be known is that a sequel will be required to settle this.

Joe Brusha and Clayburn Moore came up with the story but it’s the script handed in by Pat Shand that allows the whole thing to be functional. The seasoned author does a wonderful job leading our ragtag heroes into battle, though admittedly a lot of the dialogue during this can be categorized as hammy. While Cassidy aims for revenge the entire plot takes a massive twist that places the cast into a unique and interesting circumstance. I don’t want to give anything away but there’s enough here to demand further exploration, no matter how silly it might sound.

Now the art done by Jacob Bear is not entirely bad by any stretch of the imagination but it is rather bland. Each panel is crafted with enough detail to carry the weight of the written word but bodily formations and facial renditions look static and at times even awkward. That said there are moments where the dynamic colors done by Rohvel Yumul uplift the visual quality but never enough to match the gravitas surrounding the world at play here.

B.A.R. Maid #5 is a solid tale that yields a fitting journey. It may not birth a concrete ending but while carrying inconsistencies it does do enough right to get a pass and even earn a recommendation.