By Keigen Rea — Last issue had the hard job of following up on the first issue’s cliffhanger, but Stillwater #3 has the more difficult goal of delivering a lore dump. I think the results are good, if a bit mixed. 

With the lore dump comes a lot of information. People can regenerate, and nothing living dies. There are really cool concepts handled here, even if they’re only given through dialogue. We learn a little more about the town, meet some people. Someone pushes someone off a building. 

I enjoy the way this issue gives us a way into our lead’s mind, by way of his diary. The feeling of loneliness is sold and sewn throughout this issue, and having the narration take place by means of a diary isn’t new, but it is effective. Its effectiveness is twofold, by accentuating his loneliness, he is writing to himself, and two by allowing us to see into his mind. It was a bit of a sneaky way around some of the necessary exposition of the issue and series. 

The highlight of the issue, for me, is a long conversation through the middle of the issue. It’s a depiction of Daniel and the town’s doctor having a chat about how to adjust to Stillwater, and some tips about what happens there. It’s a good example of a scene that could have been boring but instead is dynamic because of the choices Perez makes and what he chose to show.

Even if Zdarsky overwrote this scene, which I’m mot sure he did, there are a few good examples of panels that are designed to be easy to read, while still keeping a steady pace. There’s also an extremely haunting image of a cow, that only works in context. It’s magnificent.

The biggest strength of the issue, though, is the way that ti balances the exposition with building up the core mysteries at the heart of the series. Some of what this issue says about Stillwater are likely rules that the story will work with going forward, but a lot of this issue brings to mind important questions that were already important to the story. Questions about how long Stillwater has made people immortal, and whether people age or not while there are key to the future of the series, and dangling them in this issue is great.

What has made me enjoy this series so much at this point isn’t the core concept but the execution, but the team is doing a good job working both sides of that coin for maximum effect. 

Overall: Stillwater #3 maintains the pace of the previous one, opting to spend its time fleshing out the town. Not the strongest issue so far, but still worth checking out. 9/10

REVIEW: Stillwater #3

Stillwater #3
Writers: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Ramón K. Perez 
Colorist: Mike Spicer 
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image/Skybound 
Price: $3.99
After witnessing what happens to rule breakers in Stillwater, Daniel must come to terms with what it really means to live forever. And what exactly is a deathday?
Release Date: November 18, 2020
Buy It Digitally: Stillwater #3

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Keigen Rea is excited for the end of the year, for various reasons, including some time off of work and school, along with the fun of making end of the year lists. You can (probably) find him @prince_organa on Twitter.