Dante has discovered that not all victories are sweet. The Count may have won his tournament, but the outfit ransacked his dojo and murdered his friend. When that happens, there is only one thing left to do… dojo war. Count Dante: The Unauthorized (But Sort of True) Story of The Deadliest Man Who Ever Lived #5 wraps up the story that dances around both fact and fiction.
Written by J.C. Barbour, it’s hard to figure out exactly where the bullshit begins and truth ends for Count Dante: The Unauthorized (But Sort of True) Story of The Deadliest Man Who Ever Lived #6 but for what’s out there, the finale lands much more in the fiction space. That unknown has been part of the fun of the series but for those that know the story of John Timothy Keehan, aka Count Dante, you know this issue takes a lot of liberty.
With the counterattack against his enemies over, Dante is hurting and on death’s door. In fact, he dies this issue and beyond the twists and turns throughout, that death is as much a clue as to where this series lies than anything else.
With visions of Bruce Lee, talk of a Sheng Mak, and a question as to whether he faked his death, the finale falls far into the fantasy space. In reality, Count Dante died in his sleep of internal hemorrhaging caused by a bleeding ulcer. While an “ulcer” is mentioned, it’s the form of ulcerative colitis and then from there things get upgraded, or is it downgraded, to cancer that eventually takes his life. It’s maybe the one “fact” that’s pretty documented but the series takes artistic liberty. And that’s quite ok as that’s part of the fun of the series as a whole. For six issues it’s taken the exageration that is Count Dante and upped it to 11.
The art by Wes Watson continues to be great with color by Paula Goulart. The comic has a pulp sense about it and there’s a detail about the art and the ads within that really enhances the story overall. While there’s some action in the issue, it’s all about Dante’s death and the art takes a somewhat muted a solemn approach about it all. It’s what the comic needs in a way visually delivering a muted death compared to the visual over the top aspects of the previous five issues followed by a pulp sense of action. Visually, it’s a chef’s kiss..
Count Dante: The Unauthorized (But Sort of True) Story of The Deadliest Man Who Ever Lived #6 wraps up the series having fun with its subject. It’s both reality and satire, fact and fiction, truth and lies, sending up martial arts, the 70s and 80s, all in one entertaining series. Hopefully it entertains and maybe it’ll send readers on a journey to discover even more about this iconic figure in martial arts.
Story: J.C. Barbour Art: Wes Watson
Ink: Wes Watson Letterer: Wes Watson Color: Paula Goulart
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
Graphic Policy was provided a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Scout Comics
