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Released by: Image Comics
Released on: Apr. 09, 2014
Part 3 of The Hunt story finds Peter in the hands of his captor, Emmerich. However, this isn't any typical capture-imprisonment-torture scenario. Emmerich has Peter in a cabin out in the remote woods, far away from the war and even takes him fishing.
However, Emmerich's line of questioning is constant, trying to unnerve Peter on a foundation-level of psychosis. The two men discuss the nature of their conflict with Emmerich wanting to hear how Peter thinks it has all changed since the time of their fathers. But their discussion keeps coming back to the mastermind, Haken, both knowing he's the key to all this struggle they're engaged in.
For his part, Peter deflects much of the inquiry and repeatedly attempts to escape. But Emmerich and his dogs always track him down and, as punishment, Peter is chained and thrown into the nearby lake for longer and longer periods. While there, though, Peter has visions of Wendy the Mermaid who rescues him with her own air.
It's Emmerich, though, that keeps bringing him back to the surface, offering him a beer and trying to work his psychology on him. As Peter is a leader he's trying to compare his tactics to Haken's but Peter insists he's a friend to his team rather than just giving orders. He says he sees the value in the lives of those that are following him and he “only has friends to save.†Peter even sees Emmerich as a good man just with a troubled life that's led him to this point.
However, in the midst of this campfire discussion - when Emmerich is mid-sentence, even - he's interrupted by a bullet to the head. Stepping from the shadows, his assassin turns out to be Lily and, now free, Peter joins her in leaving his imprisonment.
Thoughtful and tasteful aren't typically terms used to describe a POW situation but here Kurtis Wiebe's story just plays out movingly, detailing two of the true faces of war. The costs, then, seem even greater when played out simply. Tyler Jenkins' artwork is subdued but lush with rich details, conveying an even greater import to the story being played out. Additionally, this issue comes with a five-page preview of Ted McKeever's Superattenuated Man to enjoy as well.
