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Shutter #23-30
Shutter, Vol. 5: So Far Beyond
The final chapter of the Shutter series begins with explorer Kate Kristopher facing a greater loss than any she's experienced before, leaving her more determined than ever to end the secret society Prospero's grip on the world.
Kate's surrealistic odyssey through time and space comes to its epic end by co-creators Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca.
Collects issues 23 to 30.
Kate's surrealistic odyssey through time and space comes to its epic end by co-creators Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca.
Collects issues 23 to 30.
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2017
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117 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 6, 2017
This final book goes a little off the rails and a lot weird. We've got the climax, an epilogue that reveals the endings for the major characters (not all of them happy), and then another final climax. The book goes meta on several occasions, and the way things build up, resolve, and then build up again is a very strange plot route. And after the first climax, the story moves from plot to platitudes, as the philosophy that the series espouses is laid out more and more heavily. The art is a highlight; there are several double-page spreads that are astonishing, including a flower of time image that will stick with me for a long time. The series overall never quite matched up to the expectations of the first volume - it spread itself out further and further, and the threads of the plot were ultimately strained and frayed by the time it was tried to pull back in. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to others; maybe if you value imagination over plot, or are more in tune with its forward-looking philosophy.
August 7, 2017
More like a 2.5. Shutter is a messy book plot-wise.
Read
January 24, 2018“A lot of people have spent a lot of time keeping the future restrained so they can hold on to the past. Squeeze a few more years out of what they know because they’re afraid of what might be.”
I don’t know to what degree this was always the ending Keatinge and del Duca had planned, but fair to say, it certainly got no less topical while the book was in progress. A privileged elite are determined to hang on to what was, no matter the cost; stopping them, as the reunited Kristopher family have vowed to do, will mean dooming the universe that the multiverse may survive. The status quo is no longer an option – it’s either let the world rot until nothing can happen ever again, or burn it down and see what comes after. No pressure, then.
Also, Kate’s new hair is amazing.
Throughout Shutter, I’ve been largely wishing that K&dD would just fuck off the grand conspiracy story and take us for a leisurely wander around this whole wide wonderful world they’ve made. Many of my favourite panels in this volume weren’t the big plot stuff – they were the sunrises and sunsets, the endless permutations of happy couples in the backgrounds (human and lizard-person, human and living musical instrument…it makes a Pride parade look like Alabama, and I love that). And even here, part of me was wishing that once the big story is wrapped up they could maybe do a Locke & Key and pop back for brief visits every now and then, Shutter Tales or somesuch. But as it went on, I increasingly had to admit that would be a betrayal of everything they’re saying here about moving on, about never succumbing to the temptation to be trapped either by nostalgia or guilt. Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have got quite so teary over it all if I hadn’t lost someone fairly recently…but I would still have got at least a little teary over some of it, especially the closing flash-forwards, and the way not everyone is there for all of them. I do love a good flash-forward ending - see also Babylon 5. Probably the only sort of ending to rival balloons. And the one here makes especially lovely use of the format with its collage of covers for issues of Shutter we’ll never see inside. A bitterweet, epic finale which both fits and elevates everything that's come before.
“There’s never enough time.”
“Well, sure. But that’s the thing, right? Maybe there’s never enough. But we had the time we had, and we have the time we have.”
I don’t know to what degree this was always the ending Keatinge and del Duca had planned, but fair to say, it certainly got no less topical while the book was in progress. A privileged elite are determined to hang on to what was, no matter the cost; stopping them, as the reunited Kristopher family have vowed to do, will mean dooming the universe that the multiverse may survive. The status quo is no longer an option – it’s either let the world rot until nothing can happen ever again, or burn it down and see what comes after. No pressure, then.
Also, Kate’s new hair is amazing.
Throughout Shutter, I’ve been largely wishing that K&dD would just fuck off the grand conspiracy story and take us for a leisurely wander around this whole wide wonderful world they’ve made. Many of my favourite panels in this volume weren’t the big plot stuff – they were the sunrises and sunsets, the endless permutations of happy couples in the backgrounds (human and lizard-person, human and living musical instrument…it makes a Pride parade look like Alabama, and I love that). And even here, part of me was wishing that once the big story is wrapped up they could maybe do a Locke & Key and pop back for brief visits every now and then, Shutter Tales or somesuch. But as it went on, I increasingly had to admit that would be a betrayal of everything they’re saying here about moving on, about never succumbing to the temptation to be trapped either by nostalgia or guilt. Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have got quite so teary over it all if I hadn’t lost someone fairly recently…but I would still have got at least a little teary over some of it, especially the closing flash-forwards, and the way not everyone is there for all of them. I do love a good flash-forward ending - see also Babylon 5. Probably the only sort of ending to rival balloons. And the one here makes especially lovely use of the format with its collage of covers for issues of Shutter we’ll never see inside. A bitterweet, epic finale which both fits and elevates everything that's come before.
“There’s never enough time.”
“Well, sure. But that’s the thing, right? Maybe there’s never enough. But we had the time we had, and we have the time we have.”
October 2, 2019
So Far Beyond felt like it didn’t know when to end. It blew past the epic finale ending and then the tidy wrap-up ending, for an ending that tried to be both but largely failed to be either. Still, I loved the art and enjoyed the writing, and Shutter as a series was worth reading through to the end.
April 6, 2025
3 ⭐️
Uhm, I don't know how to describe the finale of the series...
On one hand, the development of the characters after the bloody events of the previous book was handled well, especially with Huckleberry and Alain. Kate's farewell to Cassius was also quite touching.
But this big, grand, epic finale with the Kristopher's vs. the Prospero just fell incredibly flat and did not deliver the exciting conclusion I was hoping for. The mysterious, universe-ending entity that Prospero was hiding was, to me, essentially a big Macguffin. It delivered no consequential action, seemed to be no reason for it to be hidden in the first place, nor did the story elobrate what its purpose was.
This book was written by a team that truly loved the characters but feels like they were backed into a corner and forced to end the series before they were ready to.
Uhm, I don't know how to describe the finale of the series...
On one hand, the development of the characters after the bloody events of the previous book was handled well, especially with Huckleberry and Alain. Kate's farewell to Cassius was also quite touching.
But this big, grand, epic finale with the Kristopher's vs. the Prospero just fell incredibly flat and did not deliver the exciting conclusion I was hoping for. The mysterious, universe-ending entity that Prospero was hiding was, to me, essentially a big Macguffin. It delivered no consequential action, seemed to be no reason for it to be hidden in the first place, nor did the story elobrate what its purpose was.
This book was written by a team that truly loved the characters but feels like they were backed into a corner and forced to end the series before they were ready to.
May 17, 2025
With a series so insanely epic in scope it’s newly impossible to perfectly stick the landing. This ending is fine, things go on and some more wonderful insight from Kate and Cassius. This series looks gorgeous, nearly every page has something special about it and the montage time jump ending really did hit but i can’t help but feel there should be more. The whole series made me yearn for that feeling of making impossible possible and just loving life and the moment but the end felt a bit rushed.
I’d still highly recommend this series to any comic fan. This reminds me a bit of East of West or other massive tales that have so many good ideas and plot points that the ending is either going to be 50000 pages and boring or you just have to miss out on some answers. Read this series!
I’d still highly recommend this series to any comic fan. This reminds me a bit of East of West or other massive tales that have so many good ideas and plot points that the ending is either going to be 50000 pages and boring or you just have to miss out on some answers. Read this series!
January 3, 2018
After getting to read the first 4 volumes of Shutter at once, and I finally get to read the final installment of this series, and as a whole I give this 5 stars in terms of enjoyability.
But as a whole I can only give a 3.5 or 4 at best. As I said in my initial review of the series I love how the art design is gritty looking yet colorful, the characters are diverse and interesting and the art design really leads to facial expression very well which made it all the more appealing to me. The story is ridiculous and absurd and again as I said before it made me love it for all the reasons I loved Saga.
But this story. Jesus Christ. I don't even think I understand it even if I had a wiki and cliffnotes to follow along. If I had to loosely describe this (and I'll keep it as spoiler free as I can): The story revolves around Katherine Kristopher, famous author and daughter of an even more famous explorer. Their travels basically took a contemporary earth to full blown Sci-fi one in the time jump from her 7th birthday to present day adulthood. She gets by day to day, but a hit gets placed on her and she narrowly escapes the assassination attempt, but the resulting damage injured her roomate and best friend. To solve and put a stop, this she gets ripped back into the adventurer lifestyle she had left and learns she's tied to a family secret that basically effects and controls everything that makes up the universe. Control of all of it is being fought over between two secret societies (the Kristopher Society & Prospero) and that her father appeared heavily involved....
And it just gets nuttier from there. I loved this series, but it can't be a good sign if I can read through all 5 volumes of the story and barely have grasp on what the hell is happening. But it does say a lot of the characters because they were what carried me through this. I very much enjoyed Shutter and would (and do!) recommend it just for the experience of it. But I can't give it 5 stars.
And honestly, I'm knocking off another half star for what happened with my favorite character at the end. They deserved better than what they got.
But as a whole I can only give a 3.5 or 4 at best. As I said in my initial review of the series I love how the art design is gritty looking yet colorful, the characters are diverse and interesting and the art design really leads to facial expression very well which made it all the more appealing to me. The story is ridiculous and absurd and again as I said before it made me love it for all the reasons I loved Saga.
But this story. Jesus Christ. I don't even think I understand it even if I had a wiki and cliffnotes to follow along. If I had to loosely describe this (and I'll keep it as spoiler free as I can): The story revolves around Katherine Kristopher, famous author and daughter of an even more famous explorer. Their travels basically took a contemporary earth to full blown Sci-fi one in the time jump from her 7th birthday to present day adulthood. She gets by day to day, but a hit gets placed on her and she narrowly escapes the assassination attempt, but the resulting damage injured her roomate and best friend. To solve and put a stop, this she gets ripped back into the adventurer lifestyle she had left and learns she's tied to a family secret that basically effects and controls everything that makes up the universe. Control of all of it is being fought over between two secret societies (the Kristopher Society & Prospero) and that her father appeared heavily involved....
And it just gets nuttier from there. I loved this series, but it can't be a good sign if I can read through all 5 volumes of the story and barely have grasp on what the hell is happening. But it does say a lot of the characters because they were what carried me through this. I very much enjoyed Shutter and would (and do!) recommend it just for the experience of it. But I can't give it 5 stars.
And honestly, I'm knocking off another half star for what happened with my favorite character at the end. They deserved better than what they got.
October 18, 2017
I honestly only stuck with this to see how it would end, and the result was underwhelming and confusing despite the series strong start. Honestly not really worth it.
January 17, 2019
Well I did it. I finished Shutter and I was really hoping for a succinct ending that would solve all the problems of the previous volumes but that didn't really happen. I'm glad that the ending was Kate finally getting to break away from the control and manipulation of her family. But let's be honest I couldn't keep anyone straight. Who was actually dead? Who was fake dead? How they were all related? This multiverse thing? Space jellyfish thing that Prospero was trying to stop? Who even is Prospero? I still don't know anything. I'm mostly still upset about Cassius, because he was the only character I understood/liked. So I'm giving it two stars for Cassius's benefit, because what happened with him was just wrong.
December 28, 2017
All good things must come to an end. The various Kristophers get together for one last battle against Prospero, but Alarm Cat's got some other ideas. Weird ideas. Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca's amazing series about the secret battle for the end of the world ends the only way it possibly could. And hey, we even got sneaks into all the main characters' lives after the big battle, which was quite neat!
October 18, 2017
The missing star is mostly because Alain deserved better.
Props for not drawing it out, though, and letting the arc finally end. This was probably as good a knot as could be made from so many threads.
Props for not drawing it out, though, and letting the arc finally end. This was probably as good a knot as could be made from so many threads.
January 13, 2018
I really didn't know this would be the final volume of Shutter when I went into it, honestly. There are more great character designs and interesting plot reveals in these issues, and Leila del Luca continues to be the shining star that makes Shutter worthwhile. So many instances of really clunky, cliche, and unprofessional writing still keep it from having been great. Have you ever known a friend whose creative ideas are pretty wonderful, like maybe they're a good song writer, and you're glad they're making music, but they naturally assume the role of singing vocals even though their voice is cringe-worthy to hear? I've known several people like that, and I feel that way about Keatinge's role throughout this series. I honestly wish I had documented the parts that I read multiple times and made a horrified expression at, so that I could give some hilarious, concrete examples. But I know I read comics selectively, based primarily on there being a great writer involved, so my standards are quite high in that department. Withing the profession of writing comics across the whole, I'm sure Joe Keatinge is well above the median on the scale of talent.
A few notable things found in this final volume: one issue is a crossover special featuring a strange, sappy cafeteria scene with a handful of other Image characters that have been around a while. I think it was for the 25th Anniversary of the publishing company or something. Spawn and that green dragon guy were the only two I recognized though, and the script reads like a corny narrator's monologue at the end of a Lifetime after school special, with gems like this taking up 2-page spreads:
"There's never enough time."
"Well, sure."
But that's the thing, right?"
Maybe there's never enough."
But we had the time we had."
And we have the time we have."
Like, did *anybody* except Joe Keatinge get teary-eyed at that, or think it was some eloquent utterance of profundity deserving of size 36 font? That little Hallmark speech comes from Kate, who remains throughout the entire series a very visually striking protagonist, but is never given the justice of saying or doing anything terribly interesting. Most of her speech bubbles could have been written by a slightly precocious 7th grader.
At least we've got Huckleberry, Alain, and Cassius (aka Alarm Cat) to provide more interesting scenes. The final two issues are rather tidy epilogues, showing what becomes of each of the remaining characters shortly after the "End" of the story. Some of the coolest design stunts are seen in these issues, helping wrap things up while giving us glimpses of potential future stories being launched, in very 4th-dimension-breaking style.
Shutter is short enough, and attractive and fun enough, that if you enjoy the first few issues, you'd might as well read the whole story. But it's not a series I'll be looking to own physical copies of. I *would* love to just look through the character designs and certain action sequences, or Huckleberry's solo scenes, with some good fan-fic captions written in!
A few notable things found in this final volume: one issue is a crossover special featuring a strange, sappy cafeteria scene with a handful of other Image characters that have been around a while. I think it was for the 25th Anniversary of the publishing company or something. Spawn and that green dragon guy were the only two I recognized though, and the script reads like a corny narrator's monologue at the end of a Lifetime after school special, with gems like this taking up 2-page spreads:
"There's never enough time."
"Well, sure."
But that's the thing, right?"
Maybe there's never enough."
But we had the time we had."
And we have the time we have."
Like, did *anybody* except Joe Keatinge get teary-eyed at that, or think it was some eloquent utterance of profundity deserving of size 36 font? That little Hallmark speech comes from Kate, who remains throughout the entire series a very visually striking protagonist, but is never given the justice of saying or doing anything terribly interesting. Most of her speech bubbles could have been written by a slightly precocious 7th grader.
At least we've got Huckleberry, Alain, and Cassius (aka Alarm Cat) to provide more interesting scenes. The final two issues are rather tidy epilogues, showing what becomes of each of the remaining characters shortly after the "End" of the story. Some of the coolest design stunts are seen in these issues, helping wrap things up while giving us glimpses of potential future stories being launched, in very 4th-dimension-breaking style.
Shutter is short enough, and attractive and fun enough, that if you enjoy the first few issues, you'd might as well read the whole story. But it's not a series I'll be looking to own physical copies of. I *would* love to just look through the character designs and certain action sequences, or Huckleberry's solo scenes, with some good fan-fic captions written in!
March 14, 2022
I never look at a book's GoodReads rating until after I've read it since my opinion usually aligns well with the rating. BUT NOT IN THIS CASE! I think the "Shutter" series deserves 5 stars for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately I'd guess most readers were unable to understand the very psychedelic-inspired ending. The only thing that could blow my mind harder than toad-venom is if I found out the author had never partaken in the peyote that his main character smoked in Volume 4.
Volume 5 gets seriously existential and although the plot became very difficult to follow I feel like it forced me to slow down and really take in what I was reading. Seriously though, what a messed up set of characters haha! The ending gave me chills and I'd recommend it to any open minded weirdo who likes weird stuff like this :)
Volume 5 gets seriously existential and although the plot became very difficult to follow I feel like it forced me to slow down and really take in what I was reading. Seriously though, what a messed up set of characters haha! The ending gave me chills and I'd recommend it to any open minded weirdo who likes weird stuff like this :)
December 18, 2017
The overly convoluted plot once again got in the way of all the real charms of Keatinge and Del Duca's highly imaginative mix of out-there fantasy and family drama as this conclusion was ultimately both enormously frustrating and quite moving at the same time. The more it focuses on the increasingly uninteresting main plot, the less it works for me but fortunately, there are enough lovely little character beats and imaginative moments to just about pull me through. Del Duca's art isn't always the clearest but it is often striking and is only enhanced by Owen Gieni's vibrant colours. Keatinge, meanwhile, clearly has enough talent to pull out a masterpiece at some point. Sadly, this wasn't quite it.
December 27, 2018
Zakončení bohužel ukazuje na to, že celkově příběh nebyl dostatečně promyšlený. Vrstvení zvratů bylo ad hoc, celkový vývoj tak nedává smysl a aby toho nebylo málo, tak poslední číslo je úplně meh.
Na druhou stranu rozloučení s postavami v předposledním čísle z toho vytřískalo hodně - sice mi to částečně přijde jako levný trik, ale fungovalo to na mě, tak co už.
Nemůžu říci, že by pro mě Shutter nedostál očekávání, ptž byl prostě rozjetý příliš ambiciózně a to, že není zcela promyšlený bylo dost pravděpodobné. I přes hrozně otevřený konec čtvrtého dílu je podle mě výrazně lepší nápad skončit u něj a závěr si snažit domyslet.
Na druhou stranu rozloučení s postavami v předposledním čísle z toho vytřískalo hodně - sice mi to částečně přijde jako levný trik, ale fungovalo to na mě, tak co už.
Nemůžu říci, že by pro mě Shutter nedostál očekávání, ptž byl prostě rozjetý příliš ambiciózně a to, že není zcela promyšlený bylo dost pravděpodobné. I přes hrozně otevřený konec čtvrtého dílu je podle mě výrazně lepší nápad skončit u něj a závěr si snažit domyslet.
February 15, 2023
I really wanted to like this, and I thought I was going to. But as so many others have mentioned, the plot structure was so weird, climax, resolution, new climax, endings that weren't really endings. Honestly, it was so confusing and I really lost the plot (and any investment I had in this bizarre family structure). The interpersonal parts of the story I think were the only things I really liked, the overarching mission of all of this never really connected and always felt like an intentionally obscure backdrop. This was okay, better to read them all in quick succession - I think I would have been horrifically lost had I waited between volumes.
August 3, 2018
I wish that I could say what this was all about! I enjoyed this final volume but it’s very wordy and complicated and I probably didn’t have enough patience with it. Kate’s journey continues and is brought to an end and we find out what happens to all the main characters. Artwork is interesting and detailed as well as colourful. It’s probably best to read all 5 volumes in one go for the whole thing to make sense as it covers a lot of ground. Worth a look especially if you’re more patient than me!
March 23, 2018
And so it comes to an end....
After the brutal ending to Volume 4, I was a little let down by this volume. While it did seem to wrap up many of the questions, certain things felt incredibly anticlimactic.
With that being said, I did really enjoy this entire series, and certain parts of the end of this volume did leave me with the warm and fuzzies.
After the brutal ending to Volume 4, I was a little let down by this volume. While it did seem to wrap up many of the questions, certain things felt incredibly anticlimactic.
With that being said, I did really enjoy this entire series, and certain parts of the end of this volume did leave me with the warm and fuzzies.
August 22, 2018
Despite featuring some of my favorite art in contemporary comics (including some wonderful homages to different classic comics), Shutter never quite came together for me. Messy plotting and flat or inconsistent characterization kept me from becoming truly immersed in the story, but the series is worth checking out for the art alone.
August 26, 2024
What did I just read? This is the weirdest series I’ve read in a while, and I kept reading because I had to know what was happening,but this series does a really good job of never telling you. And this volume was just ridiculously confusing, felt like it just made an ending that didn’t connect to the rest of the series. Nothing made sense. Ug.
February 5, 2018
I devoured all five volumes in this series and loved them. The art is incredible, and the story is like Indiana Jones meets Sandman. This final volume was the best one in a lot of ways, although I didn't like one familiar trope in one of the characters' story arcs.
February 26, 2022
My rating is for the series as a whole. I liked the characters, I liked the queerness, I liked the fantasy, I liked the art, but as much as I did... I'm not entirely sure I understand what happened in the main plot points.
January 6, 2018
I liked it, I feel like the ending was rushed a bit though.
October 16, 2017
Never have I cried so much over the death of a talking cat alarm clock.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2018
A solid end to a confused last couple volumes.
May 20, 2018
Alarm 🐈!
July 9, 2018
Epic ending for an epic series. The whole collection perhaps deserved more time with each of the characters, but I am happy with what was there. I need this series on my bookshelf.
November 24, 2018
Strong end to the series, nicely wrapped up.
April 30, 2019
A somewhat satisfying conclusion to this saga. It really feels as if a lot more of the plot details of the entire story, not just this arc, could have been fleshed out better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews