Ten-Month Old Comics!: The May 3 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars #34:  So much talking.  Soule is clearly setting up a huge story here, so I'll give him a pass.  But.  SO.  MUCH.  TALKING.

This arc focuses on Luke finding a way to fix his lightsaber.  I'll admit that I'm a little lost on which lightsaber has at this point.  He mentions the one Obi-Wan gave him, though I'm pretty sure he lost that one in "Empire Strikes Back" when Vader cut off his hands.  I don't totally recall how he got this one other than a vague memory of him finding it in a room full of artifacts in this series?  Maybe?

At any rate, he loses himself a little when he tells Artoo how strange this one now feels, and he heads to Christophsis, which is apparently the only place other than Ilum (which any player of "Star Wars Jedi" knows the Empire has locked down tight) that routinely produces kyber crystals.

He heads to a cantina to put out word that he's an interested buyer, and a woman named Gretta saves him from himself.  She reveals that the outpost runs on the bartender luring in a mark who wants a kyber crystal and then everyone taking him hostage and selling him to the Empire.  Luke is petulant as ever after Gretta kills everyone planning on kidnapping him, telling her that she doesn't know for sure they would've sold him to the Empire (despite the fact that they obviously would).  But Gretta is a fan:  she knew who Luke was from conversations on the "dark channels."

Gretta offers to bring Luke to the kyber, though Luke is super moralistic about her "being a killer," despite, you know, his own body count.  (The Jedi are always self-righteous and squishy on this point.)  Gretta reveals that her family was from Jedha, so his attack on the Death Star avenged their deaths.  

Luke leaves Artoo and heads into the Wastes with Gretta to meet a guy named Cuata.  He apparently worked with people like Galen Erso on the kyber crystals that the Empire used to make the Death Star's weapon, something I didn't realize used kyber crystals until now.  (It makes it all the cooler, to be honest.)  When his colleagues started disappearing, Cuata fled to the Wastes to continue his research.  After fleeing a creature, a concussed Gretta and Luke encounter Cuata.

As I said, this issue is way too wordy.  But it's an intriguing story, so I'm willing to accept a wordy issue to pave the way for the greatness to come.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #33:  Ugh.  I don't know why I'm bothering with this series.   Pak can't put Sabé behind him.  It was one thing when she was the arc's main focus, but she's really shoehorned in here.  

The story is ostensibly about the Force Wave that the Fermata Cage's destruction in "Star Wars:  Hidden Empire" #5 unleashed.  For reasons that aren't clear to me, the Wave causes a surge in the Force in this issue, delighting Palpatine and terrifying Vader.  Vader nearly takes out the Executor as he loses control of his powers, though Sabé (of course) manages to expel him from the ship after he breaches the hull.  She then collects his unconscious body as it floats in space and takes him to an uninhabited planet where he destroys their shuttle mid-flight.  

I know Sabé's resourcefulness is supposed to impress me here.  She pilots the disintegrating shuttle!  She grabs Vader mid-air with her winged jetpack!  Instead, it's all just as eye roll-inducing as it ever is.  To make matters weirder, Vader decides the entire episode is all about Sabé and her need to choose between her old life and her new one.  Sure.  Whatever, I don't care (to quote my son).

Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi - Lando #1:  This one-shot is fun and addresses a question I hadn't really pondered, namely how Artoo, Chewie, Lando, Leia, and Luke executed the plan to free Han as well as they did (or, well, as well as they managed).  (I didn't mention Threepio on purpose since, well, he wasn't really all that helpful.)  

Lando approaches a contact named Narin who's in possession of a map of Jabba's Palace.  As Lando goes to win the money Narin wants for the map, Narin contacts the Imps for Lando's bounty.  Lando tries to win the money from another contact, Elocin.  It's clear that she has a history with all three scoundrels and, against her better judgement, agrees to play Lando for the credits...after Chewie offers himself as the ante, agreeing to complete ten jobs for Elocin if she wins.  Their game is disturbed, though, when Narin arrives with the Imps, though Chewie, Elocin, and Lando make quick work of them.  

Chewie and Lando escape, and Elocin later sends them the plans, clearly harboring the affection for the scoundrels that Lando hoped she had.

Star Wars:  Yoda #7:  I'll admit I'm just reading this series because I feel like I should.  I like it better than "Star Wars:  Darth Vader," but it isn't all that interesting.  

Guggenheim goes down the well trod path of "size matters not" here as Yoda stumbles upon discovering that the Separatists are building "megadroids."  At least it wasn't the Death Star, which I assumed it was.  That said, that pleasant surprise made me realize the extent to which so many series in the "Star Wars" line are falling back on fleshing out previously told stories instead of telling anything knew.  It stands in contrast to the first few arcs of Aaron's "Star Wars," which were amazingly fresh.  To that end, I have to give Guggenheim credit for breaking the recent pattern.

But it isn't like a story where Anakin and Yoda try to stop a General Grievous plan is remotely new to anyone who watched "The Clone Wars."  Again, it wasn't terrible, but I'm left wondering what the point is.

Eleven-Month-Old Comics! The April 26 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Blade Runner 2039 #3:  As usual, Johnson tells a story where it isn't totally clear - in the best possible way - where we're going and it's definitely unclear if we're going to get anything close to a happy ending.

Ash has two goldfish-eating twins decrypt the disk Hythe gave her, revealing that Niander is trying to create Replicants who can breed.  (One of them refers to the new Replicants as "new Isobels," so I'm not sure Isobel is safe, wherever she is.)

In her penthouse, Chloe reminds us how sharp she is when she figures out Luv isn't there to protect her.  Luv lets Chloe know that it was Chloe's use of her mother's maiden name when she arrived on Earth that threw up the red flag.  Ash arrives and hands Luv the disc, which I initially thought meant she didn't really care about Niander's efforts and just wanted to save Isobel.  Instead, Luv departs to verify the disc, and Ash reveals to Chloe that it's blank.  They bolt in Ash's spinner, but Luv is in pursuit.  Ash crashes the spinner just past the Seawall, and she and Chloe swim to where Taki runs the Railroad.  She informs him that she's closing the Railroad for a while and makes her way home with Chloe.

At home, she learns the Replicants from last issue are still trapped on Earth because the off-world smuggling network has gone to ground.  Freysa and Ash are warmer here, which makes me happy.  Freysa reveals that she knows about the Replicant cop, and Ash tells her that Luv seemed "less human than human" to her.  (Johnson may be setting up some reveal where this breed of Replicant is indeed less human, which seems to track with K's portrayal in "Blade Runner 2049.")  When Ash reveals Niander's experiments in fertility, Freysa pushes her to destroy the disc since no one should have that knowledge.  Ash archly asks, "Not even Replicants?"

Chloe exits the bathroom having shaved her hair to make her look like Rabbit, and it's a really warm moment between the three of them, which, again, makes me happy.  Chloe reveals that Isobel is likely in San Francisco since the original Isobel had family with money there.  Freysa says the Bay is a "dark zone," making entry and exit difficult, and, man, I can't wait to see what the Bay is like after the glory of Vegas in "Blade Runner 2049."

The issue ends with Niander revealing to Luv that he made her a partner better able to navigate the world with information the LAPD gave him:  a Replicant young Ash!

Local Man #3:  The issue starts with Jack attending a book reading, which isn't exactly the way you'd expect this series to start an issue.  It turns out Hodag's former teammate, Stacy Wohl, a.k.a. Frightside, wrote the book.  Stacy's power is that a "hateful, whispering, inky monster from beyond" possesses her, and Jack doesn't find it a coincidence that Stacy is in Farmington the week someone murdered Hodag, particularly since The Fright (Stacy's monster) could perpetrate the crimes against Hodag's body the murderer did.  

Jack shows Stacy Hodag's drawing of the Aphek Engine and wonders if the Desolators were trying to find it.  To Jack's mind, Hodag couldn't join the team due to his condition, and the Desolators iced him given his knowledge.  Stacy laughs and reveals that Hodag made the drawing based on a conversation they had in an online support group, the Constructors, which Hodag established for ex-villains.  But Hodag never got the token because he kept backsliding, "trying to burrow into a quarry...looking for imaginary doomsday devices so he could play villain."  Interestingly, Stacy reveals that Hodag developed an eidetic memory after the accident, even though all his drawings look like a toddler drew them.  Stacy says that she was in town to help Hodak but is now just staying for the funeral.

There's then a hilarious sequence where Jack thanks the metal-detecting priest who watched Pepper for him (after Pepper yet again unexpectedly followed him) by letting him know God is real, even if God is a "weird android thing made out of gold and platinum" and "eats souls."  He then saves said priest from a car hitting him.  

Meanwhile, at Stacy's hotel room, someone attacks her, telling her that he read the parts of her book he was supposed to read.  She admitted in the book that the Fright gets stronger the more scared she is, so it seems like he's trying to kill her to bring out the Fright.

We end with a few quick hits:

• Jack talks to Inga, and he (not unreasonably) thinks they're flirting.  But he crosses a line when he kisses her, which is pretty much Jack to a T.  She doesn't react too badly (though makes it clear it shouldn't happen again).  When thinking about how Inga's husband is basically just guarding the quarry since nothing happens in the town, Jack realizes he needs to go to the quarry to investigate the Hodag mystery.
• At Third Gen HQ, Cutting Edge sends Soft-Kore into Camo Crusader's quarters; as he pulls a huge cross, she shows him a headline about Jack saving the priest.  
• At Stacy's hotel, a maid discovers Stacy's body as the Fright appears ready to enter our dimension.

As expected, we're going interesting places that didn't seem obvious at the series' start.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader - Black, White, and Red #1:  I haven't been a fan of the previous iterations of this idea, to the point where I felt like an idiot buying this one.  But I'm happy to say this one is much better, perhaps because Vader lends himself so well to the concept.

Aaron's story is the series' marquee event, in part because it's going to run through each issue.  If I'm guessing correctly, "Doctor Sendvall" helped transform Anakin into Vader, a fact Sendvall's son leverages to lure Vader into an ambush.  Vader is aware that the ambush is coming but mistakes Sendvall as a Rebel, which he assures Vader he isn't.  Vader is impressive as usual, using a Stormtrooper as a battering ram and severing the hands of several of the attackers and then using said hands to continuing firing the weapons they're holding.  (It's a little...much.)  Vader corners Sendvall, who utters "Padmé...help me."  (It's part of the reason I assume his father was in the room when Vader uttered those words.). Vader is enraged, and Sendvall uses his rage against him, triggering a device that incapacitates Vader.  He then calls someone to say that he's bringing Vader to the chop shop.  That'll go well.

Although I don't know who Momoko's character is, she dreams of Vader chasing her regardless of what she does to escape, definitely underscoring the story's "Inescapable" title.

The final story does involve rebels, though not the Rebels we know.  A group of Torku residents engage in a suicide mission, planning to use an orbital weapon (I think) to destroy an Imperial base hosting a gathering of some of the Empire's most elite citizens, including Vader.  The rebels sneak in a scientist who can fix the weapon, which they've been sabotaging for a year so the Empire couldn't use it.  Of course, Vader somehow knew their plan, allowing the scientist to fix it and then killing him before he can use it.  It's an interesting story in that it reminds us that not everyone was just waiting for the Rebellion to save them.  But it does lean a little too much into omnipotent Vader for my tastes.

Also Read:  Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures #2

Eleven-Month-Old Comics!: The April 19 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The Forged #2:  Honestly, 13 pages of back matter in the second issue is probably a sign that a series maybe isn't worth the time.

Like many other science-fiction series, the problem here is that the idea is great but the execution isn't.  In a way, this series is sort of like a companion to "A Memory Called Empire," except focused on the front line not imperial ballrooms.

Rucka and Trautmann spend the first dozen pages or so throwing around a lot of almost incomprehensible jargon as Victory and Hap devise a way to save the team from the crashing Her Endless Radiant Triumph.  The main problem is that the Triumph's T-space engines will crack upon crashing, creating an emp blast that'll knock out their communications.  For reasons that aren't clear to me, Victory decides rebooting the suits will somehow protect them from the blast (which I'm not sure is how emp blasts work) but directs E.V.I.L. to flood the suits with kinetic energy-absorption gel before it goes off-line.

After surviving the impact, the team reassambles itself.  Rucka and Trautmann engage in Hickmanesque behavior here, equating "confusion" with "interesting."  For example, Hap investigates some sort of goo, which, if I had to guess, came from the Triumph.  Her assessment that the "heat-tolerance before dissolution is off" clearly means it's going to matter later.  It took me reading the Gamma entry in the back matter to realize that Hap shares some sort of symbiotic relationship with the drone, Spot, which is why Victory trusts Spot when it answers on Hap's behalf.

At any rate, the team arrives at a lifeboat, where they realize the mission isn't a black box but a person.  Harpo and Pusher argue over which way they should go until Jo finds a literal arrow built from the lifeboat's crash debris. Something then bites off her arm, and we then enter into a tedious mash-up of "Dune" and "Starship Troopers."

After defeating round after round of bugs, the team finds the abandoned al-Ashanti Terraforming installation.  The team is surprised when the doors open for them and the installation is still powered.  They're able to take off their helmets due to the artificial atmosphere, and Victory has a memory appear from her conversation with the Cassandra and tells another Cassandra she can stop hiding.

The Cassandra's presence shocks the team, and she's pissed they're behind schedule.  That said, she's confident they can rearm for the "initial attack."  Victory tries to tell her that they're safe from the bugs, but the Cassandra interrupts, telling her that she isn't worried about them.  She reveals that they're there to protect her because, after 10,000 years, they've made first contact and "they mean to kill every last one of us."

In other words, meh.  It isn't terrible, but I can't say it's particularly interesting.  If I didn't have a 300+ issue backlog, I'd consider hanging in there, but I think I'm done.

No/One #2:  This issue flows a little better than the first one, as Higgins and Buccellato lean into “The Wire” vibe and make it a journalism and police procedural.

Chief Mixon arrives at Ben’s house to take him to work on his first day back in the office, though it isn’t as friendly as you’d expect, as he’s doing so to encourage Ben to retire.  Ben refuses, since he’s committed to finding Michael’s murderer.   Mixon points out Ben is the assistant chief for ops, so it isn’t even his job to do that.  Their conversation is interrupted, though, when Mixon is notified that Richard Roe struck again.  

Walt leads the Detectives Singh and Harper to a parking garage where Three Rivers University’s football coach, Nathan Cade, lies dead, with four shots to the chest and an extra casing on the floor.  Singh complains about Julia’s podcast getting out word about Roe’s modus operandi, and Walt notes that Roe left another note, this time saying just, “Clarity.” 
 
Outside the scene, Walt refuses to give Julia any more information, since the brass (particularly Mixon) is pissed that she’s out there putting them on blast.  Julia calls Teddy, who celebrates the fact Julia can’t get the scoop because it means the Powers That Be are paying attention.  But Julia is pissed when Teddy suggests that they’ll start having Alejandro do the reporting, reducing Julia to playing the role of the public face of the paper's coverage of the No/One story.  

As Walt returns from his smoke break, he spots No/One lurking in the garage and engages in a chase.  A helicopter quickly arrives to assist, and No/One uses some sort of taser device to take out one cop before successfully fleeing.  It’s all very Batman.
 
Later, Ben visits Aaron, who is truly as asshole.  Aaron declines to confirm if Cade was on his list but claims he wasn’t responsible for Cade's murder.  He notes that he thought Roe might go after Cade, though, after someone sent him Three Rivers’ football schedule with what Aaron thought was Cade’s autograph.  When he saw Roe’s note from last issue, though, he realized the same person wrote Cade’s name, since it had the same weird E.  He informs Ben that he told Alejandro from the Ledger about it when he visited because Ben was in the hospital.  Ben asks Aaron how No/One knew to save him, and Aaron says simply that he doesn’t know who No/One is because he would’ve been there for Michael had he known.  (I don’t believe that for a minute.)  Like last time, Aaron wants his dad to beg for his help, and Ben blames the situation on Aaron, who tries to blame Ben for it, unbelievably, since he was with Michael on the day he was killed.  (“I was wondering how long it would take to blame me for this.”  JFC, dude.)
 
At Teddy’s office, Ben and Teddy call in Alejandro, and Teddy is furious that he didn’t tell him about Cade.  (I can’t believe Alejandro didn’t run to him immediately when he found out Roe killed Cade.  Is Alejandro No/One or Roe maybe?)  Alejandro explains that he had spoken with a former player, Chuck Tate, who accused Cade of a “pay to play” scheme, though Alejandro notes it didn’t seem on the level of the four people No/One doxxed.  Alejandro tells them that he thought Tate had more he wanted to say but wasn’t ready yet.  Ben is clearly going to pay Tate a visit.
 
Later, at police headquarters, Mixon is for some reason forcing Ben to attend the press conference to discuss Cade's murder.   In the mens’ room, Ben runs into Senator Kemp, the victim who survived No/One's attack.  Kemp wants Ben to plead guilty to…something so he can then work with Kemp to go after No/One.  Kemp grandstands at the press conference, where, for some reason, Ben announces his retirement.

P.S.:  I listened to the first podcast.  I applaud the creators for trying something new.  That said, the acting is a little awkward if you listen to a lot of podcasts, since it's too expository.  Rachel Maddow doesn't give us her life story when she starts a podcast.  (Actually, she kind of does, now that I think about it, so maybe I'm too harsh here.)  

At any rate, it's relevant for two pieces of information that we get that I don't think we've gotten in the comic.  

First, we learn that the fifth "bullet" in Roe's gun is a blank, explaining why the cops find five casings at each crime scene.  Teddy (played by Patton Oswalt) explains that it's an homage to the random blank that firing squads often use.  He also explains that Roe had to pop out the casings physically given the nature of his .38 Special.  Singh alludes to this conversation in the issue, when he complains that everyone now knows Roe's modus operandi due to the podcast.  

Second, the tip that led the cops to Roe at the Carrie Blast Furnace also revealed to the cops that Roe uses a blank.  It means that, unless Roe outted himself to the cops, someone who knew Roe's modus operandi provided the tip.  

In addition to this new information, the authors may have mentioned it in passing in the series, but the podcast underscores more clearly the fact that the district attorney suspiciously never brought charges against anyone No/One doxxed.  It's clear that we have some sort of story there.

Star Wars:  Sana Starros #3:  Oof, a lot happens in this issue.
 
First, we learn that Deva Lompop is Grammy Thel’s auntie because she made a promise a long time ago to protect the Starros family as if it were her own.  (Given Deva looks about 20, I’m guessing she’s older than she looks if Grammy Thel is calling her auntie.)  Sana is outraged to learn that her brother, Phel, swiped a set of journals when he visited Grammy Thel.  We also learn that Phel is an Imp, which explains why he and Sana aren’t on speaking terms.  Sana storms to the bar to order a drink, where she meets a hot blue-skinned dish named Lanitra who invites her to her ship.  Deva appears and informs the pair that they leave for Hon-Tallos in three hours, apparently to steal a rancor.

 

At Wild Wollina’s Animal Adventures park, Grammy Thel and Mevera try to talk to Sana, but she isn’t having it:  she informs them that she’s leaving once they get Aryssha back because they once again chose Phel (because they allowed him to visit, I think).  To clear the park, Lanitra frees a three-headed monster called a hragscythe; Sana saves a kid from getting crushed in its stampede, and Deva uses her poison to put it to sleep.  Deva hilariously has Sana douse herself in juvenile rancor urine so the rancor thinks that she’s its cub.  (When Sana asks why Deva isn’t doused in urine, she remarks that rancors can sense predators.  God, I love her.) 

 

Wollina arrives along with a bounty hunter named Marl Jibs who’s apparently looking for Mevera, which is confusing because I initially thought he was there helping Wollina instead of them coincidentally arriving at the same spot at the same time, as I think happened.  (I don't know if we know why Jibs wants Mevera but details at the this point.)  Deva takes on Wollina as Jibs chases Sana, who eventually realizes she’s riding a rancor and has it attack him.  

Deva re-appears after her “productive chat” with Wollina, and they board the rancor into a crate.  Deva apparently helped Wollina build the park years ago, and we learn Lanitra is part of the Genetian Collective, a syndicate with a heart of gold because it wanted Deva’s help in shutting down the park.  (Lanitra declares, “Down with tyranny!” as they discuss the park’s closing.)  But Sana puts two and two together and realizes the Collective now owes Deva a favor, which she’ll use to get back Aryssha. 

 

Unfortunately, Jibs apparently swiped Grammy Thel in the chaos, which is impressive given the fact a rancor smacked him moments earlier.  He’s threatening to kill her if Mevera doesn’t surrender in 24 hours.  Also Ehllo and Phel discover Aryssha eavesdropping on people trying to open one of the aforementioned journals.  Ruh-roh!

 

It’s a fun issue, but, honestly, it’s a little too much.  After only two issues, it’s really hard to keep everyone and all the intersecting plots straight.  Hopefully we won't add any more characters or plots in the next few issues.

Star Wars:  Yoda #6:  As I've mentioned, my main complaint about the way Yoda is treated in the prequel era is that no one acknowledges that he had a Sith Lord (or two) sitting right next to him for many years.  Houser does a better job than pretty much anyone else of presenting that reality, as Yoda is forced to acknowledge that he failed young Gheyr when she leaves the Temple to prevent Krrsish's vision from becoming a reality.  Yoda chastises Dooku when he discovers Dooku knew about Krrsish's vision, but Dooku correctly points out the Order is often harsh on seers, such as it was with his friend Sifo-Dyas (i.e., the clones' creator).  In the end, Yoda is left with Krrsish - the one who acted from a place of anger and fear - as he watches the thoughtful Dooku and promising Gheyr leave Coruscant.  Yoda knows that he was wrong in the future that serves as this issue's framing device - as he waits for Luke on Dagobah - but I wonder if he knew he was wrong then.

Eleven-Month-Old Comics!: The April 12 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Black Cloak #4:  Well, we're definitely getting somewhere here.

Phaedra and Pax's encounter with the mermaids goes poorly, as the mermaids' ability to speak directly into their minds leaves them disoriented (as if they're really high).  McClaren is great here, switching to watercolors to show how Phaedra and Pax interpret the mermaids' language.  Sash asks Sabri to protect Phaedra and Pax as he once asked the mermaids to protect him, and Sabri responds that he is a friend while they aren't.  Hilariously, a mermaid behind Sabri simply says, "Eat." 

Sabri is enraged when Sash says that they're there for justice for Yanha, and her scream sends the three of them flying.  Pax figures out a way to block out the noise (pushing "it" to the base of his skull), quipping that he finally found the benefit of having a screaming baby at home.  Sash wants them to leave, but Phaedra makes a direct appeal to Sabri.  She agrees to show them an image of the person who dumped the body if they open their minds.  When they see who it was, they both comment, "Oh, fuck off."  Phaedra tells Sabri that she's sorry for her loss, and Sabri devastatingly simply replies, "Yanha was love."

It seems likely the Queen's henchman from last issue dumped the body.  Phaedra and Pax discuss how to proceed, with Pax noting that Sabri's information isn't actionable at court but might be enough to convince one of the elves to confess.  He also checks his phone-ish device and learns that the Court refused to let them have access to Freyal's quarters.

As they return to the station, they discuss the crime.  They're stuck on the fact that someone poisoned Freyal and someone else stabbed him with a dracona dagger.  Pax suggests that Freyal took the poison because he knew his mother and her henchmen were coming to kill him and Phaedra would find two murder "weapons," so to speak, which would make her suspicious.  But they realize they're missing something because the poison also killed Dace, and the Queen and her men likely didn't know she injected the poison because they wouldn't have fed her to the mermaids if they did.

Before they can do anything, though, they hear an All Points Flash (APF) seeking them for questioning in Freyal's murder.  (Interestingly, Pax is dubbed, "Theron II of Pax."  Are all Black Cloaks royals?)  They go their separate ways and agree to meet in two hours.

Phaedra goes home and has sex with Nida, who convinces her to tell her the full story of her exile.  It's devastatingly sad.

Seventeen-year-old Phaedra is trying on wedding dresses with her mother and seemingly intentionally asks not to see backless ones, purposefully provoking the conversation about her parentage with her mother.  Her mother confesses that she had an affair with a dracona after Phaedra's father returned from the war a shell of a man.  She had hoped Phaedra's was her father's but confesses that Phaedra is so like her biological father that she's always known the truth.

Something about the conversation makes Phaedra realize that she really can't marry Freyal, which I have to wonder why she didn't realize that earlier, since she clearly suspected that her father was dracona.  Either way, the revelation that she's half-dracona "would be a death sentence" for her mother, possibly for her, and "maybe for the entire Essex line."  After making Mister Starlight promise to take care of Freyal (a reminder that we're dealing with a 17-year-old girl), Phaedra tells Freyal that she's always loved him:  "It was always real for me.  You will always be my best friend, no matter where we are."  She then goes to the Queen and breaks off the engagement, knowing that it'll lead to her exile.

In the present, Phaedra explains that her exile is why her brother Hadrian hates her, since House Essex fell in status.  However, the revelation that she was part dracona could've led to its destruction, since Phaedra's father was already dead (and couldn't bear more children).  Nida sadly notes that Phaedra was the only one who lost anything, but Phaedra beautifully looks at Nida and comments about what she's found.

She later meets Pax at the Seventh Sign in the Narrows.  (I thought it was where they found Freyal's body, but, upon re-reading it, I'm not so sure.)  Phaedra reveals that the toxicology screen Nida sent her shows that Freyal could've died before he was stabbed.  She suggests that Dace took the poison with Freyal because she loved him and didn't want to live without him.  Pax agrees it's possible but messy, and they realize they really need something more than Sabri's word.  So Phaedra brings Pax to the house of Phinneas II of Thane, the "highest-raking dracona in all of Kiros"...and, of course, Phaedra's biological father.

Know Your Station #5:  Well, it's an ending, I guess.  Unsurprisingly, it turns out St. Brigid is the murderer.  Her motive is at least interesting, as she did it because she's an artist.  Ten percent of her server capacity is dedicated to image analysis, but the wealthy residents were making her steal other people's art.  We cut to St. Brigid's memories of the residents wanting to create collages with their images, like putting their face on the "Reagan volcano."  The issue ends with Elise and Marin using the residents' funds to create an oasis for the employees while the residents are forced into serving as St. Brigid's art.  It's like Gailey got one too many commissions and imagined how she'd get revenge.  I can't say I enjoyed this series, but it's different, I'll give it that.

Red Zone #2:  This issue is as great as I hoped this series would be, as Bunn brings out a "Red"-like cast of characters jumping at the chance to take on their old enemy Randall Crane.  Crane's only accomplishment other than staying alive is getting in touch with Deidre, his (now deceased) escort team's woman in the chair, who starts working on a plan to extract him and Nika from Russia.  But they have to escape from his now-robotic former enemy, Nikita Vasiliev, and, unbeknownst to Crane, a sniper with him in her sights.  Does she happen to be yet another former lover?  Of course she does.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #33:  Surprising no one, the team isn't doing particularly well.  Zuckuss barely got the Edgehawk to land at the Depatar spaceport in one piece, and Bossk and Valance threaten to break it entirely with their fighting.  After getting For-Elloem to break up the fight, T'onga announces that she's taking For-Elloem with her to pick up a hyperdrive while they all repair the ship.  But Inferno Squad is waiting and take out the pair quickly.  Commander Versio dresses herself as T'onga to infiltrate the ship, so next issue should go...well, even worse for the team.  Meanwhile, IG-88 arrives to take out Vulkorah and her associates just as she resigned as the Unbroken Clan's chief since she apparently knew her subordinates were going to kill her.  As such, he kills everyone else, since his job was to take out the Clan's leadership.  Heh.  Honestly, I'm kind of hoping Vulkorah joins the team.

Eleven-Month-Old Comics!: The April 5 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILER!)

Star Wars #33:  This issue is great.  I haven't really been feeling this Kezarat Colony arc until this point, but, man, Soule sells it here.

At the Great Hall, Luke saves Chewie, Holdo, and Lando when he summons the Force to save himself from the Killdroid who destroyed his hand and unexpectedly winds up throwing all the Killdroids off the asteroid.  He manages to grab the sacred Jedi text beforelosing consciousness, and the team collects him and the Nihil path engine before leaving.

Back at the Colony, Blythe addresses the Kezaratians; Musabekov and Rosenberg do a great job with this scene by evoking the end of "Star Wars"  where Leia awards Han and Luke their medals in front of the assembled Rebellion.  The gang surrounds Blythe as he speaks, and it reminds you just what a crazy life they all lead.  Lando describes to the colonists how the path engine works, and Leia explains that a tyrant now rules the galaxy.  But Lando goes beyond Leia, explaining to the Kezaratians that the team is part of the Rebellion against the tyrant and thus they're criminals.

Before they leave, Lando ponders a world where he and Holdo stay in No-Space, and I have to say Soule really gets Lando in a way others don't.  At the Great Hall, for example, Lando led a charge to Luke when the Killdroid destroyed his hand, and Lando was later the one to bandage Luke's wounds and give him a brotherly pep talk.  As Holdo acknowledges, Lando also did an amazing thing by telling the Kezaratians the truth about the Rebellion, something Leia didn't do when she mentioned it.  I mean, it isn't often when Leia isn't the most virtuous one.  But, despite all that, Holdo rejects Lando's offer to stay in No-Space, commenting that she's just getting started.  (I was meh on Holdo when she appeared in "Star Wars:  The Last Jedi," but I'm really digging her now.

With the truth on the table, the younger colonists largely decide to follow the heroes into the galaxy.  The remaining Kezaratians will recolonize the Great Hall now that Luke has emptied it of Killdroids.  In exchange for the fuel, the colonists place two conditions on the heroes:  they give the Kezaratians the path engine so they can now come and go as they please and  they never tell anyone of No-Space.  Leia agrees, and the team heads home.

Back in our galaxy, Soule wraps up the most important loose end, as he makes sure Luke's power burst wasn't just a deus ex machina.  Instead, it turns out it's the result of the Fermata Cage's destruction (see below).  Leia realizes this disruption likely also affects the Emperor and Darth Vader (it does, as we learn below) and heads to tell Mon Mothma.  Meanwhile, Luke tells Artoo that he's going to have to build himself a new lightsaber.

Honestly, I think this issue is one of the best of this second series.  Lando really steps into the hole that Han's absence left, and I'm excited to follow Luke deeper into the Force's mysteries.

Star Wars:  Hidden Empire #5:  I've made it clear that I feel like this story has gone on way too long, but Soule brings it to a satisfying conclusion here.

It turns out Qi'ra didn't procure the Fermata Cage to release a great Sith Lord; she got her hands on it to capture two great Sith Lords.  Too late, Palpatine and Vader realize the Cage is empty, but, before they can escape, the Archivist springs the trap.  However, before the Archivist can collect the Cage to destroy it (by throwing it in a sun), the Knights of Ren free the Sith Lords by destroying the Cage.  Ren figures, not unreasonably, that Qi'ra can't keep on winning and that Palpatine will eventually find a way to free himself and Vader, so he switches side.

Qi'ra is devastated but recovers quickly; she orders Crimson Dawn to disband and flee.  Cadeliah plays the message Qi'ra left for her, informing her that she now has access to Crimson Dawn's resources.  She notes that they were the same, the two of them:  people trapped in a game.  Qi'ra admits she never managed to free herself and beseeches Cadeliah to make her own decisions, since she's now free from who her past says she is.

Meanwhile, Palpatine and Vader discuss how the Cage's destruction has rent the Force, with Palpatine admitting that his grip on it feel tenuous.  Palpatine isn't nearly as forgiving as the Knights hoped, striking them with lightning and informing the ones who survived they work for him now.

The epilogue reveals that Luke and Leia are the ones watching the Archivist's recording, which has served as the series' framing device.  They admit what I said last issue, that Qi'ra's rebellion was a fundamental part of the Rebellion.  Her agents informed the Rebellion about the second Death Star, and her attack on Palpatine and Vader distracted them, giving the Rebellion time to regroup the fleet after Zahra's attack.  Leia wishes that Qi'ra would approach them, now that they defeated Palpatine.

Soule ends by flashing to a scene in a cantina where people later celebrate Palatine's death while Qi'ra sits alone with an enigmatically sorrowful look on her face.  It's easy to see why Qi'ra would have mixed feelings about the Rebellion's win, though I wonder what she feels most.  Does she feel jealous that Luke and Leia did what she couldn't?  Does she feel sorrow because she knows that their victory won't be complete?  I need a break from Qi'ra for a while, but I wouldn't mind somewhat taking up those questions at some point.

Eleven-Month-Old Comics!: The March 29 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILER!)

Dragon Age:  The Missing #3:  Mann moves way too quickly here, as he's done in other issues, though the pace renders this one almost incomprehensible.  

Varric and Harding yet again meet a group that can conveniently help them with their specific task, this time moving through the weirded Arlathan Forest to get to the Crucious Stone before the Venatori do.  Like the two previous issues, this issue could be a mini-series in and of itself, given the trials and tribulations the temporary team faces in its journey.  

Arriving at the temple they sought, Varric discovers a note from Solas, affirming that he's going to do what he intends but pledging to limit the damage.  One of Varric's teammates observes that the Dread Wolf's possession of the Crucious Stone likely caused the weirding of the forest, making it clear that Solas' definition of "limiting the damage" might not be the same as everyone else's.  

I wish Mann had more time to explore this story, because it's a good one, but it's clear management is forcing him to hit his marks more quickly than advisable.

Dungeons & Dragons:  Saturday Morning Adventures #1:  I'll admit that I had a really high level of excitement for this issue.  It doesn't quite clear that bar, given that it's 19 pages long and reads like it's half that number.  Booher and Maggs throw in enough interesting developments to keep me going, though, such as the revelation that the kids are in the Realms and Dungeon Master's nod to Otik's spiced potatoes.  Would I mind seeing them in Krynn after Waterdeep?  No, I would not.  But I also wouldn't mind Booher and Maggs trying to tell a more serious story than the one they tell here.

Local Man #2:  Fleecs and Seeley do a great job moving us confidently and quickly through this issue to get us going on the larger story they're telling.

The cops arrest Jack on suspicion of murdering Hodag, and Jack reveals to the chief that Inga (i.e., the chief's wife) is his alibi.  After the chief releases him, Jack quips (like an asshole) that it's interesting Inga didn't mention they met, and he gets his just desserts when the chief quips that Inga never mentions him at all.  (I can see what Inga sees in him.)

Jack gets in trouble when the Third Gen drone trailing him suspects he's getting involved in the investigation, so he takes Pepper for a walk to visit Hodag's mother.  She's a lovely and sharp woman.  She utters a code that temporarily disables the drone, telling Jack that Hodag had one for years and she learned to invoke her right to "non-target privacy."  As such, they have a private conversation inside her trailer.

She recalls how Hodag chose Crossjack as his enemy because Crossjack understood that it was all a show.  She reveals that the Camo Crusader bashed in Hodag's brains, rendering him seriously brain damaged, and thanks Jack for "fucking that fascist prick's wife, hard and long for years."  (Aha!)  She rues on how they could send a billion-dollar robot to monitor Hodag but couldn't use the money to fix his implants or his pain.

Before Jack leaves, she gives him the drawings that Hodag used to do in crayon.  Going through them later that night, Jack sees the word "Aphek," which reminds him of the Aphek Engine, a previous mission's subject.  Dressed in a mask and wielding a bow and arrow, he takes out the drone and promises its remains that he'll mind his own business.

Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi - Jabba's Palace #1:  At this point, you'd figure we've heard the story of every droid, gangster, and scoundrel in Jabba's palace in "Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi."  Guggenheim shows us not only were we wrong but how wonderfully wrong we were.  

We're treated to the story of Eightyem, Threepio's predecessor as Jabba's protocol droid, who we last saw hanging on the wall in Jabba's droid torture chamber.  It turns out poor Eightyem was dragged into a conspiracy that a fast talking Twi'lek named Silvan Kaan put together to take out Jabba.  It ends the way you'd expect (and, frankly, Eightyem should've expected), with an equally fast talking bounty hunter named Bane Malar (hi, Toril!) spoiling their plans as a way to curry Jabba's favor.  Kaan ends in the sarlaac pit, and Eightyem finds himself on the aforementioned wall.

Honestly, this story was so great that I'd love to see where Guggenheim could take Bane Malar.

Twelve-Month-Old Comics!: The March 22 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #32:  It’s been months since I’ve read an issue of this series, but I’m still over this Sabé story.  

Vader appeals to Sabé to help him take out Jul Tambor, since she now knows what type of man Jul is.  When it appears Sabé is ready to take up Vader on his offer, Eirtaé (I think) grabs her and bolts.  Using their anti-gravity belts, the Handmaidens fly her to their ship, where Ochi is waiting.   But Sabé unbuckles her belt and falls, knowing Vader would use his powers to catch her.  (The full-page image of Sabé floating to Vader is spectacular.)  

With Sabé now in his corner, Vader puts the mission to take out Jul under her command.   Rather than bombarding his location, as the Empire would do, Sabé informs Jul of Vader’s location but asks him to hold off attacking it, as 12 Skakoan refugees are there.  Jul bombs it anyway.  In a conversation with Sabé, he exults about ruling Skako Minor once again.  Sabé reveals that she recorded his words and plays them for the refugees who realize he was willing to kill him to rule (and not just defeat the Empire).

The Skakoans quickly turn against Jul, and Sabé consolidates Imperial control over Skako Minor.  Vader is disappointed she didn’t kill Jul, though she correctly notes he would’ve become a martyr, rather than disgraced, if she did.  Sabé praises the peace that now exists there, though Vader corrects her, calling it “order.”  It’s a nice reminder that Anakin's obsession with order turned him to the Dark Side (if you buy him having any motivation other than Lucas needing him to become Vader by the end of "Star Wars:  Revenge of the Sith").  

Sabé tells Vader that she left the Handmaidens so they could go about their lives.  It took me a second read to realize that Sabé, probably correctly, assumed Vader would've killed them all if Sabé had returned to the fold since she would've presumably told them that he's Anakin Skywalker.  Now, she tells him, she'll be the only one to lose her soul.  Weirdly, Vader reacts to this conversation the way he did when he discovered that he killed Padmé at the end of “Star Wars:  Revenge of the Sith," inadvertently crushing items around him while uttering, “You are not the only one.”  

Despite my dislike of this arc, I do buy that ending.  That said, I buy it because, after all these years, I still find myself wanting to find a connection between Vader and Anakin.  Pak uses Sabé as a way to tease out that evolution, one of the only effective efforts I've seen.  At the end of the day, though, Lucas did so little in terms of justifying Anakin's fall that nothing I've seen since really convinces me they're the same person.  Pak tried his best, but it remains Star Wars' original sin.

Undiscovered Country #24:  Snyder and Soule resort to a few dei ex machina to move us from Zone History to Zone Bounty.  It isn't the most satisfying ending to an arc, but at least it's an ending.

Levant takes Charlotte and Valentina to the space beneath Apollo 11 on the day it launches.  A raving Levant reveals that all this colleagues (and likely he) went insane when they realized that, in every simulation they ran, the timeline ended at the same point.  Levant "had to take care" of his colleagues, which clearly means that he killed them.  Levant apparently asked Aurora about it, but he tells the women that Aurora is losing it.  

Given their connection to someone they love in the real world (Daniel for Charlotte, Ace for Valentina), they refuse Levant's offer to pick an era where they could stay.  Disappointed, he decides to leave for 1981 America, since he has roughly 20 years left.  It's a little convenient, but it's actually kind of refreshing that Levant isn't the sort of crazed monster that Destiny Man or Dr. Jain was.  Before Apollo 11 launches, though, a portal opens.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, Ace conveniently kills Emperors Chang and Janet before they can reveal what they learned that turned them against America ("What we learned was that in order for Aurora to --").  Ace asks Janet if she expected him to stand there while her future self justified murdering him, to which, if I were Janet, I would've responded, "Yes, you fucking tool!"  Before he dies, Emperor Chang passes a device to Chang.

Suddenly, Charlotte and Valentina arrive, and Bukowski arrests everyone.  However, Future Valentina appears via a holographic projection from Buzz and convinces Bukowski to let them go because they matter whereas she and Bukowski will disappear when Aurora shuts down the experiment.  Bukowski agrees to help them to the next zone.  Poignantly, Janet asks him what they'll do now, and Bukowski responds, "I don't think it matters."  

It's very "Matrix"-esque, elevating the lived experience of people in the "real world" above the "people" within the simulated one.  That said, in the "Matrix," the people within the simulated world had physical counterparts in the "real world."  Here, you realize these people - except for Bukowski and Valentina - think they're real, which raises the question of whether they are.  Cogito ergo sum.

In Zone Bounty, Janet is unexpectedly overcome with emotion that Charlotte and Valentina are alive, which is weird.  Is she feeling proxy guilt for a version of herself killing them?  At any rate, Charlotte and Valentina relate their experience, though Chang and Janet aren't buying what Aurora is selling.  As Chang says, of course Aurora is going to advocate a position discouraging anyone from invading America.  Janet also points out it's a convoluted way of getting to a pretty obvious message.  (It is indeed, Janet.)

As the team continues through the forest of corn, Chang uses the device Future Chang handed him, enabling him to contact the PAPZ ships just off the California coastline.  Dun-dun-DUN!

X-O Manowar Unconqured #1:  I know little of Aric of Dacia, but I heard this miniseries was a good introduction to him.  It is, though I'm not sure it's a good thing.

Under orders, a soothsayer (whose name we later learn is Nimane) tells her emperor (whose name we later learn is Ursus Nox) her vision of Aric surrounded by a sea of bodies.  Distrurbed, she refuses to consider the scene more, so the frustrated Nox pushes for her to focus on the present and tell him where Aric is now.  She reveals that he and his armor, Shanhara, are trying to prevent a comet from striking Earth.

Turning to Aric, he and Shanhara succeed, crashing onto a frozen planet that Aric dubs Scythia.  Shanhara scans the comet's remains and reveals that it was a mand-made explosive meant for them not Earth.  (I’m not sure how she knew it was meant for them but details.)  Aric informs Shanhara that they have to stay on Scythia until the enemy presents itself lest they endanger Earth.

Back at Nox's HQ, one of his generals, Cadmus, suggests to Commander Aurum that they have a backup plan if they're unable to pry Shanhara off Aric.  Cadmus complains that Shanhara is a legend with which Nox is obsessed, and Aurum warns him that he's tip-toeing on the line between loyalty and treason.  

Later, on Scythia, Nox’s troops arrive and reveal to Aric that Nox rules the Imperium Novus Romanus.  Aric is surprised to encounter Romans.  That said, I’m not sure they're really are or if they picked bait they knew Aric the Visigoth would take, given Cadmus and Aurum fear Aric has figured out it’s a trap.  Otherwise, I'm not sure what the trap is.  

Re-reading the recap, this issue sounds more exciting than it felt reading it.  I mostly  felt like I was just getting an AI-generated story about a Visigoth fighting the Romans in space.  I’m going to bail here while the bailing is good.

Twelve-Month-Old Comics!: The March 15 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Black Cloak #3:  Thompson and McClaren deliver yet another spectacular issue as Thompson dives more into Kiros' history and precarious present.  

Over noodles, Phaedra exposits to Pax that people resent the Black Cloaks because law and order is a new concept in Kiros.  She stresses that they (the Black Cloaks) exist to prevent the sort of feuds that happened in the past, because Kiros, as the world's last city, would fail if those sorts of feuds reemerged.  It alludes to whatever happened to wipe out the rest of the world, and it seems clear that Freyal's murder is probably related to that larger reality (and not just succession politics).

In terms of that more specific mystery, Phaedra reveals that the scar on Freyal's tattooed arm was over the symbol for honor, meaning, as Pax says, he might've had something to confess.  Apparently Freyal and Phaedra had a secret spot in the Trees, so Phaedra explains that she's come there because Freyal might've left a message for her at the spot.  After Pax pleads with her to let him help her, she tells him about how the Kiros Three were in her apartment and tried to pin the murder on the dracona.  Pax tells her that the toxicology screen came back saying that Freyal had poison in his system and said poison used dracona blood as its base.  Given two dracona daggers are involved (presumably Thompson means the one used on Freyal and the one used on Phaedra), they agree someone is trying really hard to make it look like the dracona did it.

Pax carries Phaedra to the secret spot and asks how they go there without wings.  He correctly surmises they used "tech wings," which prompts him to comment on how he forgot how different their lives were...before.  Underscoring how tech exists here, Freyal's message is a hologram.  He confesses that he started unraveling after Phaedra left.  His mother became more distant, refusing to see him as a potentially good king.  But he unwound completely when he "found it."  He didn't know what to do, but he knew that he couldn't bring the information directly to Phaedra or "they'd" kill her.  It seems pretty clear that he killed himself as he contemplates ways of getting the message to her.  

As the Brownout ends, a flash of white light destroys the hologram, which Pax notes is their second "bright flash of light" (per the kids' testimony last issue).  They depart and, in the distance, a winged figure follows them.

During an interlude at the castle, Phaedra's friend Valorie is called before her professor, Master Ividor, after the Queen asked a question about the healing magic she used on Phaedra.  She walks him through the spells she used as well as a protection spell she created called the Hex of Solar.  Ividor is particularly interested in the purified dragon oil the spell uses, and Valorie explains that it's for regenerative purposes.  Ividor dismisses her and explains to the colleague that entered during the conversation that Phaedra survived the attack.  Dun-dun-DUN!  But Ividor doesn't think Valorie's spell was enough to save her, making it clear he may suspect she's part dracona.

At the Heights, Phaedra and Pax interview Dace's friend Renna.  Renna recognizes Phaedra as the "Black Cloak Frey was always going on about."  She noted Dace hated her because she was in love with Freyal and it was clear that he would always love Phaedra.  But Renna tells Phaedra that Freyal loved Dace as much as he could.  She tells them that dracona royals previously paid her a visit.  But Renna is street smart and knows that she could've been dealing with anyone, commenting that anyone capable of killing a prince is capable of magic that could fool her.  She remarks that there's nobody people like that can't get to, which makes Phaedra realize there is:  mermaids.

As I've previously said, it's hard to explain how dreamily wonderful this series is.  Moreover, Thompson opens up the world significantly in this issue.  Whereas before I could've seen it ending after ten or so issues, it's starting to feel like a much more immersive experience is in store for us, and I'm all for it.

The Forged #1:  I'll be honest:  the concept here is more fun than the execution.

The Forged are Her Eternal Majesty's SEALs, bred specifically to do her bidding.  We're introduced to a five-member team, which Victory leads, traveling on Her Majesty's Starfortress Her Endless Radiant Triumph.  The team's mission is to recover a black box from HMS The Ever Seeking Forward, which crashed on an uninhabited planet designated Gehenna D-54-C in the Hinterlands.  The team is skeptical about the mission, since it's pretty mundane given their usual missions.

Adding to the intrigue, the ship is carrying a Cassandra, seeresses who are part of the same breeding program as the Forged.  (She and Victory were in the same batch.)  They have telepathic powers and the Empress usually keeps them under lock and key, so everyone is curious about the fact that one is traveling on the ship with them.  The Cassandra calls for Victory and implants a memory into her brain that she then removes.  She then calls on the captain to deploy the team immediately upon arriving in realspace instead of engaging in standard security measures first.

Upon entering realspace, the Cassandra activates the memory she implanted in Victory, which prompts Victor to evacuate her team in their mecha suits immediately.  They plummet through space to Gehenna's surface while we watch the Cassandra board the deck and seemingly murder everyone.  Upon arriving on Gehenna's surface, Crazyjo spots Her Endless Radiant Triumph in ruins and plummeting towards them.  The team runs, which is how the story ends.

The back matter goes into more details about this reality, including the revelation that the Empress has lived and ruled for centuries from Homeworld in Sector Zero of the Throne Sectors.  For the most part, though, the back matter feels like a cheat, the reason why this story falls short of the heights Thompson reaches in "Black Cloak."  It's more exposition than character, but hopefully that'll improve.

No/One #1:  This story is complicated and immersive.  I love it.

Upfront, I'll mention this issue is hard to recap because it's pretty complicated.  Information unfurls slowly, so I'm going to use information provided later in the issue (particularly in the back matter) earlier than it appears, mostly to identify characters.

We begin with an artist and her boyfriend sneaking onto a patio connected to the gallery where her exhibit is opening, and they start to get busy on a couch.  (We're in Pittsburgh and it's snowing, so they must've been really horny.)  They discover a body lying on the patio as a Batman-like figure (i.e., No/One0 observes the scene from an above ledge.  

Later, at the crime scene, a detective named August Singh announces, "Fuck Richard Roe" to his partner, Kate Harper, and comments that they need to put four bullets in Roe's chest to, "send a message to all these fucking fakers."  We learn that this murder is the third murder related to a copycat, which the cops know because Roe is in prison.

The assistant police chief, named Ben Kern, arrives and learns the killer left a note in the deceased's jacket pocket.  Before he can ask the cops on the scene more questions, a cop arrives and tells Kern that Chief Mixon ordered him off the scene.  Meanwhile, a journalist named Julia Paige arrives and gets one of the cops controlling traffic outside the building to tell her that the victim is Louis Capel.  As Kern leaves, the press corps pepper him with questions, which is when we learn that his son, Aaron, is Roe.

Later, Singh and Harper speak with Capel's family. We learn that the No/One is a hactivist who engaged in a data drop last year that implicated several people in....something.  (The authors haven't made that clear yet.)  Capel's wife refers to him a builder, and it's clear the family believes that he was innocent, despite what No/One revealed in his drop.

Meanwhile, Julia learns that her bosses at the Pittsburgh Ledger want to spin off her "The Drop" site, which they set up the previous year to cover the No/One and Roe news, into a podcast.  Julia protests the podcast, because she's moved off the Metro desk to sports.  Her bosses stress that The Drop drove traffic to the Ledger's site and clearly hope the podcast will add more readers.  They've hired a guy from Edge News who helped "future-proof" that company with a similar strategy.

I'll break in here and say that Julia's reluctance to dive into this story, which stretches throughout the issue, seems ridiculous.  I don't know many journalists who would forgo their leading role in covering an internationally relevant story because they committed to covering the local sports team.  Julia also seems not to realize that print is in trouble, which, if true, means she isn't as good of a reporter as she claims.  I'd like Buccellato and Higgins to explore her motives more in future issues, because they don't really make sense to me here.

Later, at a diner, Julia argues with her boss, Teddy Barstow, because she doesn't want to be a columnist and complains about "new media divisions and over-produced audio."  As they're talking, a woman named Danielle Gaines approaches them.  At the crime scene, Julia mentioned Danielle's name, and we learn here that she's the Edge News reporter covering No/One and Roe.  Julia also notes that Danielle was part of the hacktivist group Veritas.  It's a chilly encounter, which Danielle senses and leaves.  Julia agrees to do the podcast, though I don't get why Danielle's presence seemingly convinced her.

Later, Ben meets his other son, Michael, at his wife's gravesite on her birthday.  We learn that Aaron confessed to Roe's crimes, namely killing two people, attacking a state senator, and shooting two cops.  That said, Michael seems skeptical.  Later, Ben meets Aaron in prison.  We learn the copycat who killed Capel left behind five shell casing just like Roe (though only shot Capel four times) and the note in the jacket said, "I am the real Richard Roe."  Aaron doesn't give Ben anything, so he leaves.

As Ben drives home, he listens to a broadcast where we learn Capel was the last person attacked of the four people No/One originally doxxed, joining Dr. Julian Colon, Edwin Lin, and state senator Noah Kemp (who survived).  As one of the reporters ask why no one has arrested Ben, a masked figure approaches his car with a gun.  Ben says, "Do it," and, as the figure shoots, No/One appears.  The figure (which the back material confirms is Copycat #3) and No/One engage in a fight, and an errant bullet wounds Kern.  The figure flees, and a bleeding Kern asks who No/One is.

Meanwhile, we get a series of scenes where a guy in a car is ominously approaching a target.  Buccellato and Higgins build up the tension as these scenes are interspersed with scenes of Julia, Michael, and Singh, making it unclear who the target is.  It seems like it's Singh when someone calls his name, but instead it's Harper telling him that the shell casings match the original Roe gun.  We learn Michael is the target when we see him shot on the street, surrounded, again, by five casings.  The back matters confirms Copycat #3 is the shooter and Michael died, though Ben survived.

At this point, the rest of the back matter fills in some of the blanks.  

On Aaron's "Knowpedia" page, we learn the cops booked him under the "Richard Roe" name when they busted him for possession in high school.  (He apparently spiraled after his mother died when he was 12 years old.)  Most oddly, we learn No/One prevented Aaron (or, at least, Richard Roe) from murdering Senator Kemp in his first appearance and that Aaron shot the police officers as he fled the scene.  The cops found him and items linking him to the crimes at the Carrie Blast Furnaces after an anonymous tip.  

On a timeline, Danielle is all over the initial revelations, including publishing No/One's website link for the first time.  We also learn that No/One is the one who captured Aaron at the Furnaces, apparently leaving him restrained for the police.  Danielle was the one to out Aaron as Roe a month later.  We also learn No/One apprehended the first two copycat killers, Oliver Simpson and Luke Cavanaugh, though I don't think we learn who their victims were.

In other words, it's a lot.  I love it, but only a few people (including Buccellato and Higgins) could handle a story this complicated.  That said, it's still confusing.  We've got three copycats, so four murderers, and five victims (not including the two cops Aaron or Richard Roe shot).  I could really use some photos and red string.

Star Wars:  Yoda #5:  The point of this issue, presumably, is to show how quickly a student can fall to the Dark Side, as Krrsish attacks Gheyr due to his ongoing visions that she will turn to the Dark Side and attack him.  

However, perhaps unintentionally, the issue only serves to highlight how the Jedi Order failed its youngest members.  The cover image shows Yoda drilling the students for war, a reminder of how ridiculous his and other Jedi's insistences that they were a peace-keeping force were.  Moreover, Yoda intervenes after Krrsish shoves Ghery but fails to probe deeper when Krrsish says that a vision motivated his actions.  Given the hostility between the Trandoshans and Wookiees, Yoda seemed overly confident that his admonishment that such animosity doesn't belong at the Jedi Temple would work.  

Moreover, Dooku, still a Jedi at this point in time, does little (shocker) to assuage Krrsish's anxiety.  Krrsish didn't reveal the full nature of his vision to Yoda, per Dooku's advice last issue, but Dooku knows its severity and simply advises him to keep watch.  During their conversation, Yoda warns Krrsish that anger, fear, and hate are paths to the Dark Side but clearly doesn't believe he's a true threat.  He's clearly wrong, yet again.

In other words, I'm really starting to feel like the Jedi were asking for their comeuppance.