By Zack Quaintance — Die #18 is the third to last issue of what has been one of comics’ best series since it launched in late 2018. The concept of Die is a relatively simple one that allows just the same for complex character and concept explorations. It’s probably safe to bet that anyone reading this review is familiar with the book (why read a review of a comic so deep in a run otherwise?), but I’ll recap briefly because I think it’s relevant, seeing as this issue perhaps more than any before it goes back through the series to pay off ideas and past plot points.

In Die, a group of adults in their early 40s are essentially revisiting a shared trauma from their teens, albeit it one steeped in goth fantasy. See, as youths this group was literally pulled into the world of a tabletop role playing-game, where they became their characters and faced down the insidious threats that the heroes (or villains! or chaotic neutrals!) in those tend to face. It was horrifying — many of the folks involved suffered life-altering events — made even more so by the fact that one of their number — the game master — did not make it out at all. Within this premise, the book has explored guilt, responsibility, lost hopes, failed dreams, and many of the other things that tend to swirl in our heads as we get ever closer (and finally enter) early middle age. Oh, and this is all played out beneath layers of literary references, from Tolkien to Lovecraft. It is — in a word — Good.

And Die #18 may be the best issue of the series to date. In spite of writer Kieron Gillen’s impressive resume (Wic + Div, Young Avengers, Star Wars…the list goes on), to me this is a Stephanie Hans comic. As the first issue’s solicitation noted, before this run Hans had never before illustrated an ongoing comic, let alone one that will eventually run for a total of 20 issues. To use the parlance of TTRPGs, Hans work has leveled up along the course of this journey. In Die #18, its absurdly gorgeous and sharp, conveying the complex interior trajectory of the troubled and scarred character at its center with clear fully-painted graphic sequential storytelling.

I don’t know if the artist could have done this issue at the run’s beginning, and that certainly doesn’t matter: it’s here now, and the work is phenomenal. Hans color work in this issue feels particularly effective and focused, using the exact right shades to capture everything from the confusion of a young heartbreak/abuse to being under the thrall of magical beings. It’s a masterclass in narrative variety.

From a writing and conceptually perspective, the real strength of this issue is the patience. Again, we simply could not have had this story closer to Die’s beginning, or rather we could, but it would have been so poignant, so meaningful, so devastating. It occurred to me while reading that the plight of the friend left behind as been the most consequential personal journey from the start, and it’s a credit to the creators that until this point they have largely left it shadowy and in the margins as we’ve gotten to know the world and the other characters. They roll it out here now at the exact right moment and with what feels to like the exact right amount of emotional resonance, and it just hurts all the more for it.

This has the added benefit of essentially stoking the flames of anticipation for the the final two issues headed our way in the months ahead. As I finished reading Die #18, I found myself equally curious and terrified about the other major beats this book has kept in reserve.

Overall: A gorgeous and resonant issue built on the patience of expert long-form storytelling, Die #18 unleashes one of this series’ long-held story beats…and the results are devastating. This is quite possible the best issue of Die yet. 9.5/10

REVIEW: Die #18

Die #18
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
"Bleed," Part Three
Once upon a time, there was a golden child. He’s been gone a long time now. What happened to him? Let’s find out.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Die #18

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.