ALABASTER

Caitlin R. Kiernan and Steve Lieber could teach a class about how to create a conclusion to a mini-series based on “Alabaster: Wolves” #5. Their comic about Dancy Flammarion trapped in a town infested with werewolves wraps up the first “Alabaster” mini-series, but does so in a way that avoids the ongoing-series-of-mini-series trap readers so often see. In other words, this issue does anything but restore a status quo. Kiernan demonstrates in “Alabaster: Wolves” #5 that the previous four issues have all led up to this big conclusion of her opening story arc. All three characters — Dancy, Maisie, and Bird — have one final big moment lurking around the corner for them, and Kiernan doesn’t hold back on that front. Characters end up situations that are worse than when this story began, and Kiernan gets them there in a startling way. The changes are big and sudden and — just like life itself — come at the reader with no warning. Even more important, though, is the big confrontation awaitin

Two issues into “Alabaster: Wolves” and I’m finding myself utterly hooked. It’s hard not to be; with a gripping story by Caitlin R. Kiernan and beautiful art from Steve Lieber, this modern day horror story pushes all the right buttons. What’s nice about this issue is that it looks forward and back in Dancy’s story, and in both directions it’s just as entrancing. After last month’s violent debut, Kiernan picks up more or less right where we left off: Dancy’s still in an abandoned town deep in the south, accompanied by a smart-alec blackbird and low on assets and hope. The teases we get of her past encounters with monstrous beings start to pay off here; we see one of her earlier kills, and in doing so Kiernan and Lieber show us that they can go untraditional and crazy just as easily as they showed us the more recognizable werewolf from “Alabaster: Wolves” #1. The scene in the trailer grabs your attention right away with the way that Lieber creates the unreal nature of the woman inside

“Alabaster: Wolves” #1 is one of those rare, enchanting books that comes out of nowhere and absolutely demands to be shared. Dancy Flammarion is a teenager with a past filled with fighting and killing monsters. She talks to birds and has a rough time remembering where she’s coming from or where she’s going. She also has a terrific knack for finding trouble or, more appropriately, being found by trouble. With lines like, “Junk gets precious when junk is all you got left,” Caitlin R. Kiernan easily and sharply defines her heroine for us. Dancy comes across as a strong character, albeit a severely damaged one, who quickly ingratiates herself to the reader through internal monologue as well as dialog with a redwing blackbird. Yes, she talks to birds and they talk back — or at least this one in particular does. Met by a stranger who smells like wet dog (which seems like an apt olfactory description for a werewolf) seeking answers and, perhaps, retribution, Dancy’s conversation tells us ev