Although A.C. Medina and Kevin Shah’s Elasticator is a superhero story, humanity has always been central to the characters and their motivation.

The release of Elasticator #5 marks the penultimate issue. Though the series was originally slated for eight issues, Elasticator’s Facebook page shared a post explaining that the series would end with six issues rather than eight. With that being said, the action comes to a head in #5. Mikey makes amends with some characters whose lives have gone on while he trained to fight.

Elasticator has always been, in large part, about the economic downturn that hit the United States in 2008. It is a major point of the series and, seemingly, a catalyst for the things to come. The series does a great job of exploring the ways in which Brooklyn’s various socioeconomic groups were affected. Brooklyn was hit particularly hard during the recession, with neighborhoods with high populations of people of color faced staggering rates of unemployment.

It’s this perfect storm of factors that cause a man like Brother V to gain power. In Mikey’s world of mind and body bending drugs, Elasticator explores a number of hypothetical outcomes. The rise of Brother V is a logical (if not very, very extreme) response to the recession.

With Elasticator #5, the focus shifts from the politics to the action. As the second-to-last issue, readers are set up for an all-out brawl that will decide Brooklyn’s fate.

As always, the art is spectacular and well-suited to the action-packed nature of the story. Even in a fight, the characters remain expressive and each has a visibly distinct style of fighting. The creative panel layout keeps the story flowing through character interactions and altercations alike.The fights can get slightly muddled at times, but are overall enjoyable and fun to read. Mikey is a character you can’t help but root for, and though his life experiences are drastically different than anything probably all readers will experience, he’s a relatable character. In part this is due to the expressions and body language Shah has given him. Ross A. Campbell’s coloring is a wonderful addition to the series. The colors are bright but always tonally appropriate for the story. Each scene comes alive in vivid brilliance, with art and colors working in tandem.

With elements that work so well together, Elasticator will be dearly missed after it ends with the next issue.

Story: A.C. Medina Art: Kevin Shah
Story: 9.4 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Buy

Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copy for review.