Half dead and all out of F#¢K$, Local Man is left brutally beaten by a man he once considered a father. Now, trapped in the 4th Gen Training Facility, he’s stalked by the true killer of the Hodag, and Third Gen isn’t coming to help him when he needs them most! Local Man #5 wraps up the series and leaves a world begging to be explored further.

Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs have put together and intriguing series that feels like an homage to 90s Image Comics but at the same time, it’s own thing. Local Man #5 answers our questions as to the motives and who committed the murder of Crossjack’s, aka Local Man’s, nemesis and generally what was being done. It’s all rather convoluted and you just role with it but where Fleecs and Seeley are willing to go with the series is impressive. This isn’t a series that wrapped things up neatly, no, there’s some hot button issues touched upon in this finale and it’s delivered without issue. If anything, it’s all thrown in so quickly, it’d be nice if the series was expanded and some of what’s brought up and revealed was given more focus and thus more of an emotional punch.

And while that’s entertaining enough, there’s also a “retro” story focused on Fourth Gen. More connections to Image’s past is laid out but it also puts a lot on Crusader and the overall plan of the series. It all begs to be fleshed out more and explored further. There’s a hell of a lot here.

Fleecs and Seeley handle the art for one of the sections with color by Brad Simpson on one and Felipe Sobriero on the other. The art has been solid and this issue continues that. What has been interesting is how the style of the “retro” story has evolved slightly over the years as the story has moved through the years as well. The look, like the overall series, evokes classic Image superhero comics but at the same time stands on its own.

Local Man #5 is a solid finale and with that ending, we’ll hopefully get more. It has been a fantastic example of adding to what has come before but also doing your own thing. The series has opened up a whole world building on classic Image superheroes while at the same time carving its own path.

Story: Tony Fleecs, Tim Seeley Art: Tony Fleecs, Tim Seeley Color: Brad Simpson, Felipe Sobriero
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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