3 out of 5

More of the same.  Not a bad thing, when it comes to Wiebe and Jenkins, but the momentum of the Peter-Pan-recast-as-WW-II-orphans tale has dwindled for those of us without the history interests to match these events up with reality.  And really, that shouldn’t be the focus and it’s really not, but the framing technique of having a reporter interview Pan’s mates as adults, with the issue’s content delivered, then, via flashback, is already humbled by the nature of flashbacks – you know the narrator lives – and so Kurt is spending a lot of time doing character work, and heavily relying on his backdrop to bounce those characters off of it for further shading.  Since we’ve flitted through the recognizable Pan bits, that means we’re really just telling a war story now, and we’re at a low point where ‘the war is over,’ so I haven’t been sure, for a while, where this is all going.  My usual compliment for Wiebe – that his characters’ voices are very strong – remains, and the pacing is smooth, I’m just uninvolved in the story.

Jenkins’ art has gotten a little less manic over the years, with his figures somehow getting more stylized at the same time.  The angled chins and lack of detailing looks a little odd at points, frankly, because there’s not a lot of action to distract us in these issues.

So here my Panzerfaust journey ends.  I’m glad this has had ample room to grow, but I guess I also can’t help but feel that the book could’ve been perfect as a maxi-series.