GYPSY VOLUME 5 & VOLUME 6

"THE WHITE WING" | "AZTEC LAUGHTER"
Art by: Enrico Marini | Written by: Thierry Smolderen

GYPSY's fourth volume moved away from the one-off adventure presented in volume four and back into the style that defined the first few books -- a single story complete in one book, but with an overarching plotline to tie everything together. And, as a special bonus, this book references the previous installment as well, tying it in, however, loosely, with the larger narrative.

In this story, set about a year after the fourth book, our hero Tsagoi finds himself in the Middle Eastern country of Turdistan, where Bibi is doing research for her next book. It's established that she's written a trio of prior novels already, each based on her adventures with her brother and sharing the same titles as GYPSY volumes one through three. Now she's out to pen an expose on the White Wing, and has come to the land of the organization's birth, along with her publisher, the beautiful Eva Dargold, for dirt.

Tsagoi links up with the women, beds Eva, and then takes off on a chase with her when Bibi is kidnapped by the Sorceress. The action eventually reaches the White Wing's new lair in the desert, where we learn that the Sorceress is out to rebuild the organization after it fell on hard times. But following the story's action-packed conclusion, we learn there's more to the White Wing than we were led to believe, as the Sorceress is seen taking commands from a shadowy council.

After hte first three books, which took place in the arctic and other dark and snowy locales, and the fourth installment, which occurred entirely at night, this is really the first GYPSY story to be set primarily in daylight, and it's a welcome change. Much as I liked the first four books, they came across a dark in places, in terms tone and/or atmosphere. The fifth book, however, is a rip-roaring adventure, something like an Indiana Jones story, and the concept fits Tsagoi just as well as the previous style. Indeed, speaking only for myself, I found this volume far more enjoyable than the previous ones (most of which I liked) simply due to the setting, the sun, and the lightheartedness of most of the proceedings.

GYPSY's final book finds Tsagoi in South America to deliver supplies to a plague-ravaged nation. The disease in question is known as the "Aztec Laugh", and it turns anyone infected, essentially, into the Joker -- with a rigor mortis grin, an insane laugh, and a need to kill. Women are essentially immune to the plague, with some exceptions, but it afflicts all men, and there's no cure.

Tsagoi links up with a Selmer Corporation convoy and its beautiful leader, Marlene, but eventually he's separated from the group when they get close to a camp run by criminals looking to weaponize the Aztec Laugh. Marlene is captured, but Tsagoi escapes. While he spends some time with a native tribe, Marlene is infected with the new, improved strain of plague as a test subject. Eventually everyone links back up and the Aztec Laugh is cured by an herb known to Tsagoi's new friends in the tribe.

Like the previous book, this one takes place mostly during the day and again, I like it quite a bit for that reason. Marini illustrates a wonderful South American jungle setting, while giving us some truly terrifying plague-infected maniacs as well. Indeed, I don't think I've said much about the art in any of these stories yet, having focused mainly on the story -- but I should note that Marini's work is consistently goregous from first volume to last. Thanks to GYPSY, I find myself interested in seeking out more of his art the next time Comixology has a Europe Comics sale.

I'm a little bummed, however, that GYPSY has come to an end. There's still a lot more that could be done with this world and these characters, and there are still loose ends from the series, mainly involving Selmer Corporation, its missing heiress who now works as a soldier in Siberia, and the Sorceress and White Wing. But There hasn't been a new GYPSY volume published in Europe since 2004, so at this point it seems unlikely the series will see any further installments.