Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“Hell Above Us and Heaven Below”

Confused again.

So bringing Spark into the Clean Room by Chloe was a strategy to try and save Astrid’s life from the gunshot wound that she received from her brother. It was a highly controversial idea that Killian was not a fan of, but Chloe seemed to have the drop on everyone.

As Astrid is coding, Spark possessed her to try and save her. He is able to remove the bullet and save her. As Astrid was coming around, she ordered Spark to be destroyed with 60,000 volts.

Whoa. I did not see that coming as the electricity shot through Spark and left it ashes on the Clean Room floor. Right in front of Chloe, who had promised Spark, who did not want to save Astrid, that she would protect him. Even Killian was surprised by the move… how cold, seconds after your life is saved, you kill what had saved you.

Astrid’s brother, who was the person who shot her, claimed that Astrid had killed their father, which was why he had shot her. So it looks like the questions I had about Astrid’s motivations are gone now and that she is nothing more than a cold-hearted monster.

Does this mean that I have to look at the people in this book and re-evaluate their motives? How about the Surgeon? Do I owe him another look?

Okay, so Astrid is currently planted herself on team bad guy. Is that where she is going to end up? Or is there something more that we don’t know?

Excellent series so far… love it.

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“A Critical Event”

So this book took a WILD turn that I was not expecting…

Astrid Mueller is shot, the bullet going into her heart. It sure looks as if she is dying and she compels Killian to get Chloe because she needs someone to take over her role. Astrid says it can’t be Killian because Killian is a follower and the leader can not be a follower.

She also dropped a bomb…

Hell is real and the demons are trying to break through.

There are so many fascinating things going down here, including it apparently Astrid’s own brother Peter who shot her.

When Killian called, Chloe brought her own little squad with her, including Detective Avil Demaros and the Haverlin Brothers. Chloe insisted that she be allowed to bring a witness into the Clean Room with Astrid and Killing, which would be Rene.

Although, with a great ending surprise, it was not just Rene Haverlin. It was also Spark, who had possessed Rene and showed itself at the end of the book. It’s as if Chloe was really thinking ahead of the game.

What is next in this series. I can’t even think what could possibly be coming.

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“High Way to Hell”

While I still am not sure of of the dep motives going on here, the scene with Astrid and the Surgeon made things a little clearer about what I think about Astrid.

However, Chloe has not been convinced. She met up with Detective Avil Demakos, who was looking to ask her some questions about Michael Parks, who had been killed by being twisted into a pretzel-like shape. In just a few pages, I became a fan of these two and I want a good old fashioned love story in the middle of this horror book.

We see part of a relationship between Astrid and Anika, who does not look good. Astrid does seem to have feelings for Anika (and Chloe too) even if it is not obvious to anyone that she does. Astrid feels cold, and she barely responds to some of the horrors that are around her. Even a slight tear was barely recognizable in this issue.

It was a good issue and I loved how they were setting things up with this story moving forward.

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon David-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“The Surgeon Walks”

Another interesting new character makes his way to Chloe’s home: The Surgeon.

He does not look like a major problem… initially. He was an old doctor who came is speaking to Chloe, trying to convince her to come with him to the hospital.

Chloe played along… and then jammed to knives through The Surgeon’s head.

That, of course, did not kill him.

So what stops the Surgeon from killing Chloe? A phone call and a threat from Ingrid Mueller.

Ingrid has plans for Chloe. That is clear. And Chloe is not done with Ingrid either. We learned about what specifically happened to have Phillip blow his own head off.

This has been such a sensational series so far. I love these characters and I am just not sure who is the hero, who is the villain and what is going on. Gail Simone has gotten my attention once again.

Spoilers

Written by Gail SImone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover Art by Jenny Frison

“All the Wrong Places”

Our two stories each reach a fever pitch in issue #5 of Clean Room, the Vertigo series from 2016-2017.

Astrid Mueller was inside the Clean Room with her associate Terry. Terry had shot the monster in the head, thinking he save the day.

He had, in fact, doomed himself. The creature possessed Terry and was preparing to assassinate Astrid. Then, Astrid showed how bad ass she is.

I assume everyone who works for Astrid Mueller has one of these Lifeboxes with certain memories that allow her to rip them down in a moments notice. Terry’s memory was a sad one from his youth with his brother.

Meanwhile, a demon (or whatever) possessed Rene Haverlin to speak with Chloe. The demon was called Spark and spoke in a broken English. This creature was very creepy (as was Terry in the Clean Room).

While these events were going on, Capone went and got in a hot tub naked. She was buying off an actress to lie about her pregnancy to take the heat off the questions in the air about why Rand Tanner, actor and customer of Astrid Mueller, had died of an overdose.

Once again, I do not know where some of these characters stand and I am loving it. Very little here feels black and white. There were some full page panel art throughout the book that were extremely effective in creating a tone of creepiness and a sinister feel.

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“Turn that Front Upside Down.”

This issue starts off with a flashback to Astrid Mueller trying to recruit a man named Doctor Hagen. It was fifteen years ago in Norway and what Astrid was using for a recruitment tool was a little unlikely. This series continues intriguing flashbacks as cold opens that give us little details about some of out characters.

The issue has a double confrontation that plays out in seemingly the same time frame. We have Astrid inside the Clean Room with the man with his eyes pecked out- the man who had run her over in issue one. It was pretty clear that this was not that actual person… either he had been controlled or taken over. Meanwhile, Chloe was facing off with the creature that had taken over her home and had attacked her neighbors.

By the way, The Haverlin Brothers survived last issue, which made me very pleased. These three appear to have Chloe’s back, even though she tried to persuade them to not get involved. I have become a fan of these boys at this point, but I am afraid more is coming with them.

The two confrontations take different turns. Terry does something to the monster in the Clean Room, apparently killing it, which sent Astrid into a frenzy, screaming that they are all going to die. Then, Chloe is being slowly taunted by the creature in her house, which tells her that it was there to help her kill herself.

Chloe still sees Astrid as her enemy, but I think there is more to this series than that. I do not think it is as simple as protagonist vs. antagonist. Each issue brings a new level to this horror series. Excited for the next issue tomorrow.

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“Good Things and Celebrity Deaths”

Okay, so my thoughts have switched on this book. I was, at first, seeing Astrid Mueller was out main villain/antagonist of the book, and now, I am not sure.

It is cool to have found out that Astrid was the little girl at the beginning of issue #1 who had been hit by the car (twice). I suspected that was the case, but I was not sure.

I felt bad for the Haverlins who took the beating from that weird creature. They were just trying to protect Chloe’s home.

The arrival of Killian to protect Chloe from the gas station attendant was a surprise and, yet another hint, that Astrid Mueller is more than what I first saw.

The end of the issue with Jonas Kemf and his missing eyes was a scary image. It is one more hint that maybe Astrid Mueller should be seen in a different light. I love that about this series so far that I am not sure exactly what is going on. I feel that Chloe is certainly a protagonist at this point, but after that, what the rest of the story is has kept me enthralled.