Luna #4 Review
Luna #4 is a supernatural thriller comic book with a trippy and interesting art style. It is written and drawn by Maria Llovet with variant covers by Ariela Kristantina. Readers who enjoyed comics like Pretty Deadly or Sandman may enjoy this title as well.
Teresa is pulled between her loyalty to her newly found family and the mysterious man in the cave. As Teresa’s connection with the chained God grows stronger, the Family of the Sun begins to fall apart around her. Lux has a proposal to end this turmoil, but it will have dire consequences for the chained god. Teresa has to make an impossible choice.
Luna #4 is published by BOOM! Studios and is available from May 19, 2021.
Luna #4 – Story
Teresa wakes from her dream to find members of the family of the Sun fighting. The women in Lux’s harem are begging for his blood, which he continues to withhold from them. We know that something happened to Joe, the only other male in the family, from previous issues. The mystery is removed immediately. We know now that Lux has killed him.
We also continue to see in obvious ways that Lux is abusive and power-hungry. Lux kept everyone around him on the hook with his blood. The power he uses is not truly his though, it belongs to the Chained God. Lux confesses to Teresa that he wants to kill the Chained God and take his power, but he needs her help to do it.
Teresa is faced with a very concrete dilemma. She has felt connected to the Chained God and wants to save him, but helping Lux would mean his demise. So she offers up her blood to Lux but ultimately makes a choice that will alter her path forever.
Luna #4 – Art
This is the first issue in the series that uses more concrete imagery instead of symbolism, and Llovett still does a stunning job with visual storytelling. Many of the shots linger on the consequences of violent or dubious actions. We sit with Lux’s victims and their pain, and it feels even more weighted than it has in the past.
I enjoyed these lingering moments, because it would be an easy choice for the art to jump back into the action and follow the aggressor rather than the victims.
The art captures what happens when a charismatic man starts a cult and takes advantage of everyone around him. The women in the family of the Sun are trapped by their ties to Lux, both because of the leadership he’s claimed and because of their blood tie to him. Llovett does a stunning job showing that abusive, co-dependent relationship in the artwork. These women seem to recognize that Lux treats them poorly, that he manipulates them, and yet they are still hungry for their connection to him.
Teresa is the only one who does not seem to feel the weight of that hunger equally. This juxtaposition between Teresa and the other women is shown directly in one scene. Teresa is giving herself to Lux, even though she is hesitant to do so, she’s not hungry for him. The other women wait outside the door and lament their lack of access, shown by their tortured expressions.
Once again, Llovet is able to portray solid and engaging emotions in such subtle ways.
Luna #4 Conclusion
Issue #4 provides us with answers about who each of the characters are and how they connect. The relationships between the characters are laid bare, and we continue to see the build in the conflict between them and the build in the conflict within Teresa herself.
Though Teresa is uncertain of the path before her, she makes a choice that leads to self-sacrifice. We have built up a lot of tension as we head into the final issue of this series, and I, for one, cannot wait to see where the conclusion takes us next month!
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RELATED ARTICLES:
1. REVIEW: Luna #1 – Surrealism That Takes You on a Weird Trip
2. REVIEW: Luna #2 provides a Psychedelic Feast for the Eyes
3. Luna #3 builds on Llovet’s trippy supernatural thriller style and is remarkably exceptional
