Abe Sapien #13

By Mike Mignola, Scott Allie, Sebastian Fiumara & Dave Stewart

Heading into the latest issue of Abe Sapien, Mike Mignola and Scott Allie deliver another thoroughly enjoyable installment. While the main plot didn’t get much development overall, this seemingly isolated one-shot story was a terrific read.

Abe Sapien #13 started off a little on the confusing side and the introduction of this issue was a little jarring at first. Eventually, everything comes together and is made much clearer. Abe, along with his new traveling companion, is still on a quest to prove he is not connected with the monsters everywhere. His new companion was actually a very irritating addition to the story, but luckily she remains in the background of the action for the most part. There was a lot of intriguing mystery in this issue that led to some particularly interesting encounters. Things just keep getting stranger for Abe, but this book also had a lot of depth and a fairly suspenseful buildup, culminating in a bit of action that has been relatively minimal in this series.

The artwork by Sebastian Fiumara and Dave Stewart is probably among the best we’ve seen in this series so far. There is a great attention to detail and subtle realism in all of the illustrations, while maintaining a very dark and somewhat gritty sensibility. The detail in Abe Sapien #13 was beyond what we’ve come to expect from this series, and some of the stranger characters and events looked fantastic. Dave Stewart again perfectly complements the illustrations with equally detailed but dark colors and shadowing.

This was a much darker issue of Abe Sapien, but as always, executed very well. While the overall plot of this title has taken a slight pause, this was definitely an enjoyable installment. This also may have been one of the best looking books in the series so far.