After learning the dark secrets of the mysterious island, Lee is left to decide if he wants to join these cosmic cultists or make a break for freedom. But when he’s unwilling to leave his metamorphic monster of a brother behind, he will make a fateful decision that might save their necks but doom the entire planet! White Boat #3 is an intriguing finale that feels like a mix of aspiration, condemnation, and monster horror.

White Boat has been an interesting series, a solid concept that feels like it’s far more complicated than it needs to be. Written by Scott Snyder, the series follows a reporter who has been trying to find out about White Boats, mega-yachts that the super-rich use. After finally being able to explore one, he was kidnapped and brought to a remote island. There we find out about a rich society, a cult that has existed for millennia working on “The Human Project.” Their goal is to bring about paradise, but as we learn in White Boat #3, their goal is a bit sinister underneath.

The series has had a mix of ideas behind it, a little Jurassic Park, a little Jim Jones, a little The Prisoner, it’s been an ever expanding mystery. White Boat #3 brings things together as Lee learns the truth of it all and has to make a decision if he wants to risk everything or live his life with the brother he thought he loss.

At its heart, White Boat #3 shines a spotlight on a story of the super-rich whose entire motivation is what benefits themselves, and themselves only. It brings the real world debate we have about the ultra wealthy and the hoarding of not just their money but their focus on only enriching themselves further instead of benefiting society as a whole. It’s a worthy concept to discuss and explore, and unfortunately it’s touched upon as motivation instead of a major discussion in the finale. There are some flaws in that finale beyond that. Lee takes what he’s told without any exploration or examination to see if claims are real. It’s a leap that needed to be justified in some other way to really understand Lee’s internal debate as to what to do. The issue about have been helped by adding a few more pages to flesh that and more out, decrease a slight choppiness, including an ending that feels like it’s a bit rushed to wrap things up nicely when a more nebulous and open ending could have been more interesting.

Francesco Francavilla‘s art is solid as expected. With color by Francavilla and lettering by Andworld Design, the comic has the horror/monster vibe that Francavilla shines. There’s some great panels and moments of coldness in the characters’ expressions or abject terror that drives home the situation. Overall, the art feels like it mines more classic monster horror than anything else, especially when things begin to unravel into chaos.

White Boat #3 is an interesting finale that wraps things up but overall feels a little rushed. It could have benefited from a fourth issue or at least an expanded third issue to flesh out some moments, motivations, and the actual ending. As is, it’s entertaining and has some great ideas and an interesting theme underneath, but it’s not the strongest release from this creative team.

Story: Scott Snyder Art: Francesco Francavilla
Color: Francesco Francavilla Letters: Andworld Design
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

DSTLRY provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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