3 out of 5

We’re still making progress: the Cyan issue felt like it forced its color theme upon its creators, leading to the theme-less (and more organic) Magenta.  Yellow does what should’ve been (and maybe was, but just wasn’t executed properly) instituted from the start: instating its color as a theme, but outlining what the theme should focus upon.  Sara Miller, Managing Editor, gives it to us on the back-page editorial: Fall; leaves changing.  Change and creation, but also loss and destruction.  And every single story (barring Fabio Moon’s entry, but we’re giving him a pass because he’s the mainstay in each issue, and thus somewhat outside of the concept) sticks to that.  So I didn’t feel bandied about as I did in Magenta, or left wondering what the pitch was as I did with Cyan.  That being said, most of these stories leaned toward figurative, or were conclusion-less (not open, just without a conclusion), and so the issue itself doesn’t have those clear winners that make it a must read.  And since the first story equates yellow to peepee, it’s hard to shake that sensation.

Here’s the breakdown:

Steve Orlando and Emilio Utrera do that thing creators do where they suddenly get obsessed with Hindu mythology for a while and give us a tale of two jealous creators that seemingly extends across several existences.  It’s an oblique little tale (I’ve probably summarized it incorrectly) with some confusing images and a final panel that feels a bit too pat in the way that’s presented – is it a happy ending or a sad ending?  Unsure.  Wasn’t concerned enough to think about it.  Utrera’s art is appealing sketchy with the hefty dose of defining lines of, say, Bill Sienkiewicz, who also appears here.

‘Untitled’ by Gerard Way and Philip Bond.  Guess who else has apparently stumbled into a Hindu phase.  There’s a fight, things go on, Philpi Bond art, good colors, wink wink.

‘End of Line’ by Toril Orlesky.  Probably my favorite tale in the collection; a figurative subway ride for a dying woman.  The imagery seems, perhaps, Egyptian influenced, but it successfully avoids the trap of the Hindu crap because it doesn’t feel as central to the story.  The core is the character’s travel – that’s what Orlesky gives us, and it’s wonderfully compact with an effective use of oranges and yellows without pointing a finger at the color theme.

Marguierite Bennett and Sienkiewicz.  I was going to brush this tale off as a faceless piece of whimsy that just so happens to take place in a yellow room, but a quick Wiki search show some interesting results for Yellow Room, so that’s something.  But it ends with the line: “Perhaps God and the Devil are no more than we — cruel and clumsy children at play.”  Now tell me that’s a famous quote or something, but that doesn’t help me not brush this off as whimsy.

‘The Signal’ is a fascinating post-something-esque tale by Diego Agrimbau and Lucas Varela, about two kids wandering through a world where everyone is mesmerized by the color yellow, which we may equate to the ‘caution’ signal of a traffic light.  Hence the idea that people stall when they focus on a choice… The color scheme was very appealing here – reds and blues for our primaries, using a light shade of yellow for a sickly background.  I wish a bit more focus had been used to determine who speaks in a blue word bubble or a white word bubble, and the final phrases could have resonated more with the core idea, but overall, this is good anthology work – experimental, interesting, and not using Hindu mythology.

‘The Black Clade’ by João M.P. Lemos made no sense to me.  It looks nice.  But, like, I pass through a lemon grove, and then die due to unrelated circumstances.  Logical response?  FUCKING BURN DOWN THAT BASTARD LEMON GROVE YEAH.  And then let’s focus on a character we haven’t seen before for our final shot, because that’s how to connect with the reader.

Matt Miner and Taylan Kurtulus cheat the color scheme a bit by calling their story ‘Amber,’ but it sticks with the themes of life and death.  Not my cup of tea, but well-paced, and a solid inclusion in the collection.

‘The Cataphract of the Yellow Lotus’ by Benjamin Read and Christian Wildgoose with gorgeous colors by Jordan Boyd and bold lettering by Travis Lanham.  This was a mini-epic, and definitely ties with ‘End of Line’ for best story here.  It’s pretty amazing how much is packed into a few pages (Orlesky’s bit is a good example of minimalism, ‘Cataphract’ is prime compressed storytelling).  Any story where you wish there was more but don’t feel shorted by what you read is a good one.

And Fabio Moon does another autobiographical-like piece, just going for mood with the color application.  These bits didn’t do much for me in C and M, but now that it’s (I think) clear that Moon will be consistent, I dig the idea, and it’s a fine way to close out each issue.