Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino’s last issue of Primordial brings closure to Laika and her companions in a beautiful grand finale.
Between his DC Black Label series Swamp Thing: Green Hell, his and Dustin Nguyen’s upcoming horror series Little Monsters, and his and Andrea Sorrentino’s new horror universe The Bone Orchard Mythos, Jeff Lemire continues to be one of the most prolific creators in contemporary comics. This week, Lemire and Sorrentino are wrapping up their alternative history of the space race. The first five issues of Primordial sent readers on a mysterious, beautifully drawn journey through time and space. The final issue doesn’t tie up every loose end but is a great, poetic conclusion that highlights Sorrentino’s versatility as an artist.
Primordial #6 follows Laika, Able, and Mrs. Baker on the last leg of their long, tumultuous journey home. The animals attempt to land their psychedelic, time-traveling ship while Russian planes become increasingly hostile. The harsh landing brings both tragedy and clarity to the trio of creatures while Yelena, the aging scientist, and her granddaughter rush to the wreckage in search of her long-lost friend. Yelena and Laika’s reunion brings this cosmic story to an intimate conclusion that will tug at fans’ heartstrings and raise more questions than it answers.
Lemire does an excellent job of allowing the story to speak for itself. He refuses to interrupt the rhythm of the narrative or patronize his audience by spelling things out too clearly. Lemire preserves the mystery and sense of wonder in Primordial with an ending that borders on the cryptic. However, the ways that some images from previous issues repeat themselves offer plenty of clues. Lemire keeps careful track of the plot and pace of this final issue to help the reader keep up. It is easy to relate to Yelena’s granddaughter who is frightened and alarmed by the arrival of the animals’ ship, but Yelena’s relief in the final scenes of the series is remarkably emotive.
Lemire’s sparse dialogue gives Sorrentino room to create some truly dazzling pages. Throughout all of Primordial, his depictions of the animals and their spacecraft have been absolutely stunning, especially when compared to the drab, gloomy landscapes inhabited by Yelena and her fellow scientists on Earth. Dave Stewart saves the most vibrant colors for scenes of the ship, which makes it feel all the more alien, yet unthreatening. Sorrentino’s compositions make each page worth rereading carefully and help Lemire tell a story that is at once dense and quiet. As good as he is at capturing the spectacle of the cosmic, he is just as adept at rendering the subtle emotions of Laika and her companions. Sorrentino’s animals display a whole range of emotions without becoming too cartoonish.
Primordial #6 is a wonderful balancing act between the surreal and the naturalistic. Lemire and Sorrentino do a masterful job of distilling this wild saga of space travel, espionage, and talking animals down to a touching story about a dog’s love for its friend. Rather than tying up every loose end, Lemire chooses to focus on hitting an emotional high note that will leave readers reeling and scratching their heads for quite some time. This is the perfect ending to a gorgeous series.
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