Six-Month-Old Comics: The August 31 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Knights of X #5:  Overall, I liked the story that Howard tells here, as Betsy and company resurrect Gambit and, in so doing, somehow connect the Siege Perilous with Krakoa.   But the execution was terrible.  She spends the entire issue telling, and not showing, us the story.  For example, the climactic battle - where the entirety of Krakoa takes on King Arthur's army - is reduced to a splash page.  Overall, it's sufficiently anticlimactic to make it hard for me to recommend this miniseries unless you're really committed to Betsy's story.

Moon Knight:  Black, White & Blood #4:  Man, this series was terrible.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #4:  Cantwell continues to use this series as a way of exploring the darker sides of the galaxy far, far away.  It's exactly the type of stories that I wish we'd see more often.

The issue begins with Obi-Wan recalling the final days of the war, where "victories" like the one he describes on Atraken still resulting in millions of dead and the planet left uninhabitable.  He recalls that he and Anakin were the closest during this period, perhaps due to the need to help each other "purge the shrouds of shadow that threatened to fall across [them]."  Hello, foreshadowing.

Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive for a briefing from Admiral Yularen who asks if Obi-Wan remembers Commander Mekedrix from the Battle of Abrion Bridge.  (He does.)  Mekedrix apparently continued serving the Republic after Abrion Bridge, including at the Battles of Ryloth, of Saleucami, and at the Temple of Eedit (battles from the first, second, and third seasons of "Star Wars:  Clone Wars," respectively).  Yularen informs the pair that Mekedrix went rogue after the Temple of Eedit and formed an execution squad called the Death Wind.  

The Death Wind apparently has no allegiance, striking both Clone Trooper detachments as well as Commerce Guild and Confederacy of Independent Systems high-ranking officials.  Yularen and the Republic's military leadership worry Mekedrix is irrevocably broken given the lack of coherence to the Death Wind's targets, and Yularen essentially orders Anakin and Obi-Wan to assassinate him.  Despite the earlier foreshadowing, Anakin is outraged in a way that Obi-Wan isn't.  Cantwell does a great job here, showing how Obi-Wan and Yularen's lack of shock of the Republic getting into the assassination business is only a few steps from Mekedrix's brokenness.

As Anakin and Obi-Wan's journey through Ando's swamps, Cantwell is clearly miming "Apocalypse Now," particularly when they discover Clone Trooper effigies before arriving at the Sith temple Mekedrix has taken as his own.  When they find Mekedrix bearing a sword made from a Clone Trooper's bones, it isn't exactly a surprise.  Mekedrix believes he "freed" his victims by showing them the truth, that annihilation is our existence's goal.  Obi-Wan tries to get him to see that life exists outside death, but it's too late:  he attacks Obi-Wan with the sword, resulting in Anakin impaling him with his light saber.  With his dying words, Mekedrix admits he used Anakin as "suicide by Jedi," if you will.

Cantwell's use of Anakin is the most interesting here, and I'd love to see Marvel put him on a series that explored Anakin's fall.  Anakin is the most morally grounded character in this issue, and Cantwell hints that it's because he's the one still struggling with his demons.  Mekedrix, Obi-Wan, and Yularen have all resigned themselves to the war that dominates their lives, though obviously with different outcomes.  Anakin's struggle with the violence and how it fits his moral code is unresolved, opening the door to the Emperor's manipulation later.

I feel like this series is a must for any fan of the "Star Wars:  Clone Wars."  I can't recommend it enough.

X-Men #14:  This issue is weird for a tie-in issue, since the X-Men basically treat the Eternals' invasion of Krakoa as an inconvenience.  In a way, they're not wrong, as some gamblers who don't know Gameworld isn't in business anymore dump a flare torpedo in the Sun to take out Earth.  It doesn't help the mutants if they survive the Eternals only to die with Earth.

Bobby creates an ice shield around the planet, and the rest of the X-Men take care of the falling ice after the shield holds.  Unfortunately, Duggan decides to use Bobby's heroism as a way to have Bobby come out publicly in the media.  His speech is shunted to one of this era's beloved interstitial pages, which makes it feel awkward and obligatory.  The subsequent Norma Rae speech the journalist delivers to her editor at the end after he tries to take out the gay part is particularly cringe.  

In fact, the most interesting part of the issue is that Scott declares that Jean is his wife when he arrives at the Progenitor for judgment.  The Hickman era has never really address Jean and Scott's relationship, and I'm hoping this hint is a sign that we're going to get the back story soon.  Also, is everyone just wandering up the Progenitor's way?  Is that how it works?

In other words, Duggan makes the odd decision to use a tie-in issue as a way to address two pretty emotional and significant developments in Bobby, Jean, and Scott's lives.  It's a shame, in my book.  I wish Marvel would find a way to get back to some of the great character moments that Hickman managed to include during the early days of his era.

Also Read:  Amazing Fantasy #1,000

Six-Month-Old Comics: The July 20 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

A.X.E.:  Judgment Day #1:  This issue is solid. 

First things first, this latest iteration of the oversized event issue is almost unique - and seriously helped - by the fact that it has a single art team.  When that team is Schiti and Gracia, it makes for a great experience.  With Gillen providing an interesting story and sharp script, it all comes together nicely.  You feel like you're watching an action movie that actually makes sense.

The action gets going as Destiny realizes that the Eternals, and not Orchis, are coming after the mutants.  She and Mystique head to brief the Quiet Council as Kurt heads to Arakko to brief the Great Ring.  But they're too late.  Druig has successfully convinced the Uni-Mind that the mutants' ability to resurrect means that their deviation will continue forever, something that the Eternals can't allow, particularly as the mutants are now spreading beyond Earth.

With the Uni-Mind's approval, Druig launches two strikes.  As the Council begins to meet on Krakoa, half the Eternals' "committed forces" combine into the Uni-Mind and attack the Council telepathically.  While the Council's telepaths protect their colleagues, a separate group of Eternals launch a physical attack.  The X-Men arrive to help the Krakoans defend the island.  During the battle, Wolverine smells Egg's blood and tracks it to Jack of Knives, stopping her before she can kill Hope.  Realizing that the two attacks were cover for taking out the Five, Wolverine gets Jean to deploy all resources to protecting the Five.  Their mission spoiled, the Eternals retreat.

Since Egg made some extra eggs, the remaining Five are able to resurrect him.  As Wolverine is telling Jean to dispatch X-Force, Kurt arrives, telling the Five to resurrect "them" because Arakko will need leaders.  It turns out Druig's other strike was more effective:  in the hour Druig gave him, Uranos killed most of Arakko.  Gillen makes it clear that this near-genocide will further complicated the X-Men's public-relations problem, as Scott noted earlier that people are still killing mutants so the Five won't be getting to resurrecting humans anytime soon.

With his mixed score card, Druig uses Earthers' smartphones to announce that the Eternals are going after the X-Men.  We see joy in the streets, a sign that the "public-relations problem" means the X-Men are right back at "the hate and fear" stage (as Scott also noted earlier).  That said, humanity's relief might be tempered when they notice the "towering death machines," as Druig dubs them, known as the Hex rising off the western seaboard.

As the Avengers are assembling, Tony realizes that Eternals have entered the Celestial. He encounters Ajak and Makkari.  Ajak notes that they face only two outcomes.  The first, and least acceptable, one is the Eternals fighting the battle (thanks to their own ability to resurrect) until all mutants are dead, leaving Earth a barren wasteland.  The second one is Tony helping Ajak, Makarri, and a bound Sinister build a god who can rewrite the Scripture on which Druig is fighting his holy war.  Tony asks how they're going to make a god, and Ajak makes it clear that they're going to resurrect the Celestial.

Again, it's a great start to this event.  The stakes feel real, particularly since it's clear the Five don't have the capacity to resurrect the million or so mutants Uranos killed in this issue.  Also, humanity cheering on the Eternals probably isn't going to do much for human-mutant relations...

Knights of X #4:  Oof, this series is really going off the rails. 

Gambit's death serves as the sacrifice necessary to open the gate to Mercator, since it turns out Mercator itself is the Siege Perilous.  Rachel saves everyone from facing their fears and kisses Psylocke.  [Eye roll.]  Mercator informs the team that they're in the Siege Perilous but have to face Merlyn, who somehow also managed to enter Mercator in pursuit of Roma, Saturnyne, and Shogo.  

Beyond the ham-fisted kiss, my main complaint about this issue is that we seem to get a ret-conning of Rachel's powers via interstitial page, as Rachel is capable of "chronoskimming."  Maybe Rachel has always had this power, but Howard uses it in a nonsensical way, as she connects it to Rachel's ability to save everyone from their fears.  That seems more connected to Rachel's telepathic abilities, since it isn't like the Siege Perilous is a time-traveling device.

At any rate, this series concludes next issue, and it just feels like one of those mini-series where the end is inevitable and the author is spinning their wheels trying to justify the number of issues needed to get there.

Moon Knight:  Black, White & Blood #3:  I don't know how many different ways I can say this series is awful.  The first two stories in this issue are fine if lackluster.  The third one makes not a lick of sense, once again.  Why am I still buying these issues?

Star Wars:  Han Solo and Chewbacca #4:  This issue moves pretty fast, as it focuses on Chewie storming Graves' villa on Mollo Tanka to rescue Han after Krrsantan captures him.  Along the way, we get some nice moments between Chewie and Han's dad, which makes it all the more depressing when Chewie frees Han only for them to discover Han's dad - and the Falcon - are missing.  Han told Graves that he dropped the urn when Krrsantan nabbed him, so I'm guessing that Han's dad has it.  I'm hoping he and Han had a plan for him to skedaddle with the urn?  Maybe?

Also Read:  Star Wars #25; Star Wars:  Darth Vader #25

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 22 Edition - Part One (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #4:  Other than the MJ sub-plot, this issue is everything I want a Spider-Man story to be.  

Kareem saves Peter before Tombstone's goon shoots him in the head.  Kareem tells Peter that Tombstone is also gunning for Robbie (in addition to planning the 125th massacre to pin on the Rose).  Peter makes his way through Tombstone's hideout in the hopes that he can stop the massacre before it begins.  Along the way, he manages to call Randy to warn him about his father.  

Of course, it turns out Tombstone made Peter do his dirty work:  Peter wasn't below Tombstone's hideout, but the Rose's.  Man, if only we had more villains like Wells' Tombstone!  

Meanwhile, Tombstone apparently just wanted to have a man-to-man talk with Robbie now that they're going to be family.  Rubbing salt in that wound, the issue starts with MJ speaking with her daughter, who looks almost exactly like her so maybe isn't her step-daughter?  In sum, Tombstone gets a happy ending with family and Peter gets...well, not a happy ending.

In other words, it's a spectacular issue from start to finish.

Immortal X-Men #3:  I still feel like I'm reading this series more from obligation than anything Gillen is doing here.  Like the other issues, I came close to skimming as Destiny monologued as she always does.  

To save you the time, Destiny has the same precognitive explosion - presumably due to her new body - as she did when her powers first manifested when she turned 13 years old.  Many of these visions relate to Mr. Sinister's cloning of Moira, as her powers allow him to dominate future timelines.  When something goes wrong for him, he simply resets the timeline.  

Awakened from the explosion-induced coma, Destiny now must find a way to stop Sinister without tipping her hand to other Council members, given her lack of trust in them.  (To show she isn't crazy for thinking that way, Charles' continued asshole behavior gets so bad in this issue that even Kate calls him on it.)  Destiny's real sorrow comes from the fact that she doesn't see Raven in any of these timelines.  As Raven is the only person she trusts, she's a woman alone.

The only interesting part of this issue for me was Gillen cleverly ret-coning Destiny's previous death as necessary for Krakoa to come into existence.  Destiny now realizes that she would've killed Moira as planned, preventing the sequences of events that led to Krakoa happening.  At the time, Destiny only knew her death was necessary, since, as we know, she couldn't see Moira.  In the Krakoa era, I appreciate it when authors take the time to make Krakoa seem inevitable, even if we didn't know it at the time.

Knights of X #3:  Enh.  I'm finding it increasingly hard to engage with this mini-series, because every time we seem close to moving to the story's next phase Howard throws up a roadblock.  

Here, Betsy and her team make their way to the stronghold where the Sevalithi are holding Death.  (According to the editor's note, the Sevalithi imprisoned him after his defeat in "X of Swords."  I have no recollection of that, so I assume that it happened in Howard's "Excalibur.")  Death informs Betsy that Apocalypse was obsessed with the Siege Perilous, and Rictor realizes that Apocalypse's grimoire has the answer to its location.  Building off Doug's email to Rictor last issue, Rictor gives the grimoire to Death to read, and Death confirms that it details Apocalypse giving the Siege Perilous to Mercator to start his land.  I don't recognize Mercator or his land, but I'm sure we'll get there.

Meanwhile, Rachel is finally able to connect telepathically with Betsy (probably because it's daylight in Sevalith, reducing the vampires' powers).  To Mordred's disappointment, Shatterstar teleports the team to the Crooked Market to help.  It all goes to Hell when Merlyn arrives, and Gambit sacrifices himself in attacking Merlyn so Meggan can free Crooked Jim.  Gambit somehow seems confident in his resurrection, even though I'm pretty sure that the Five can't resurrect mutants who die in Otherworld?  Is the Siege Perilous going to do it?  I guess we'll see. 

At any rate, the Crooked Jim story hopefully related somehow to the Siege Perilous story since, at this point, I'm wondering why we've spent so much time on it.  It feels like Howard didn't have enough story related to the Siege Perilous for five issues so she cooked up this sideplot.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

Moon Knight #12:  Marc's fight with Zodiac surprisingly wraps up here.  That said, no one is more surprised about it than Marc.  Why?  Brilliantly, McKay has Steve Grant take control of their shared body.  Steve does so because he's concerned that Reese will see Marc differently if she watches him kill Zodiac.  To be fair to Marc, he was going to kill Zodiac to save Reese from doing it because he was worried it would change her.  (Reese was going to do it because Zodiac shot Soldier after he realized that he wasn't Moon Knight.  I'm just hoping Soldier really isn't dead.)

In addition to this unexpected twist, McKay is a delight throughout this issue as he uses every character in the roster to their fullest potential.  The path that Khonshu opened for Marc and Tigra goes right through the resting place in the Afterworld of the Firsts of Khonshu (which is news to Marc).  After the former Fists follow Marc and Tigra to Earth and wind up helping them take out Zodiac's goons, a now-freed Hunter's Moon returns them to their rest, since, after all, Marc doesn't know how to do so.  With everyone pissed at Zodiac, I can't wait to see how this crew is going to handle Steve and goody two shoe-ness.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 1 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Knights of X #2 (June 1):  One of my challenges with this series is that it's so dense that I can't tell if I'm missing something because I don't know the back story (since I didn't read Howard's "Excalibur" run) or because Howard didn't explain it well.

I get the overall story.  Betsy realizes that she has to go after the Siege Perilous to save Otherworld's mutants from Merlyn.  But, before she can do that, she receives a distress call from Mad Jim after Merlyn arrests him.  While Betsy, Mordred, Rictor, and Shatterstar bring Shogo to Roma for care and training, Gambit takes Bei, Kylun, Meggan, and Rachel to the Crooked Market to rescue Jim.  Once there, they learn what we've previously seen, that Merlyn is using Blightswill to strip Jim of his powers.  

When Rachel reports this information to Betsy, Roma tells her that no one's heard from Sheriff Whitechapel from Blightspoke in ages.  Betsy takes her team there and discovers the Vescora engaged in a coup.  Betsy frees Whitechapel and her crew, but Whitechapel has Betsy drop them into some sort of lava-filled pit since the Vescora are a hive mind so she wants them to think that they're dead.  She promises to meet Betsy at the Citadel though it's unclear to me (and Betsy) how she and her crew are going to survive the lava.

In the Crooked Market, Gambit and his team take on some Furies (which appear to be fey Sentinels) while Betsy and her team are now ready to cross the Sevalithi border to find the Siege.

As I said, I get the overall story, but the nuances are hard to follow.  For example, at one point we get an interstitial page comprised of an email from Doug to Rictor and Shatterstar.  He describes his translation of a document that Apocalypse wrote in a language pre-dating the Okarra split, which apparently calls into question whether Rictor really inherited everything when Apocalypse left Earth.  I have no idea how that even remotely connects with the story at hand.  My best hope for this series is that Howard has now gotten some of the necessary world-building behind her so that the story can flow more evenly.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #22 (April 6):  When I started issue #23 I realized that I missed this issue.  I'm glad I made that discovery because this issue is a rollicking good time.  It's essentially an extended fight scene as T'onga and the crew flee the Unbroken Clan's seemingly unending army as they try to leave Corellia with Vukorah.  The banter is top-notch, from Tasu exulting in the joy of battle to Losha telling Zuckuss how proud she is of him when he makes a successful quip.  Sacks really gets this series, as this issue is exactly the type of issue I hoped we'd get when this series launched.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #23 (June 1):  From a plot perspective, this issue is fine-ish.  

This issues centers around how people underestimate Dengar all the time.  Here, it allows Dengar to get close enough to Khamdek to assassinate him after he refuses to play ball with Crimson Dawn.  That said, I'm not entirely sure what Dengar was initially trying to accomplish with Khamdek.  At first, he was seemingly trying to extort Khamdek in exchange for Cadeliah's location not assassinate him.  But given he had Crimson Dawn operatives stash a gun for him, assassination was definitely on the table.  Was he just trying to make a quick buck while fulfilling Qi'ra's contract?

Meanwhile, with Khamdek's funds no longer available for her hunt for Cadeliah, T'onga has to ask Syphacc the Bounty Broker for help, though we know from issue #21 that he's in Dengar's pocket.  As such, Dengar joins T'onga's crew as Syphacc has identified him (not exactly incorrectly, as Bossk attests) as someone who can get around the Vermillion and, thus, get the crew to Cadeliah.

Again, it's fine-ish.  Throughout this series, authors have pretty reliable shown Dengar as an idiot, so I'm not sure I'm buying Sacks' attempt to make him into an idiot savant.  Most notably, though, the main problem with this issue is that the art is abysmal.  The characters are all almost virtually indistinguishable they have so few features.  Khamdek looks like he's a teenager despite the fact that we've previously seen him portrayed as the grandfather he is.  With a somewhat wobbly plot, the particularly terrible art hits this issue hard.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #23 (June 1):  This issue is interesting as Pak raises the question whether Vader is evil or just obsessed with order at all costs.  

Sabé reveals to Vader that she knows that he's Anakin.  Vader asks what she wants, and she tells him that she wants him to help her rescue a group of refugees.  It turns out Sabé was so moved by Anakin's inability to free his mother that she's been freeing Tatooine slaves in Shmi's honor.  (I definitely rolled my eyes here.)  After freeing them, she's settled them on Gabredor III.  However, a corrupt Crimson Dawn-affiliated governor has stiffed them on the resources that they manufacture for him.  Sabé enrolls Vader in the quest to help them, since it will allow him to strike at Crimson Dawn and, to her mind, prove if Padmé was right that good still exists in him.  

Again, it's an interesting idea, whether Vader can act on the good that Padmé and Luke saw in a way that still furthers his goals.  That said, as smart as Sabé is, it's hard to believe that Vader won't still find a way to twist this outcome fully to his advantage.  Vader might not be fully evil, but he isn't good either.

One-Month-Old Comics: The April 27 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #1 (April 27):  [Sigh.]  I haven't posted in a while because I dreaded reading this issue.  "Beyond" was so great, and I was worried that Wells would need to do something to ruin that status quo just for dramatic impact.  Unfortunately, he does.

Obviously, I'm OK with Peter facing challenges.  In fact, I'm intrigued by Wells' idea that something happened to Spidey six months ago (as we see at the issue's opening) and, due to the trauma, he's on the outs with everyone.  Aunt May has moved into a smaller apartment after bankrupting herself paying Peter's medical bills, Peter stole something from the Fantastic Four that has them not speaking to him, Randy had to pay Peter's rent when he fell off the face of the Earth:  it isn't good.

Moreover, the Spider-Man part is interesting.  Tombstone is running New York's organized-crime syndicates, and the Rose wants a "product" from him as well as territory that Tombstone isn't willing to give.  (Tombstone refers to the "Kingpin" being gone, and I'm not sure if he means Kingpin himself or Butch.)  Later, it turns out the "product" is a Goblin Glider, and Spidey interrupts the deal.  When the Rose's seemingly gamma-powered enforcer named Digger (who everyone else seems to know but I don't recognize) attacks Spidey, the deal goes bad.  The Rose's men grab the glider and bolt.  

The problem is that Tombstone guaranteed the Rose's men's safety since they met in Harlem (his territory), so, as Hammerhead tells Tombstone, the Rome and Tombstone are now at war.  Clearly making a move, the Rose has his goons blow up Tombstone's apartment.  Tombstone later approaches Peter and tells him to tell Spider-Man that Tombstone is coming after him, since he has to take out Spider-Man to win back his reputation.  Peter's excited by the fact that he (i.e., Spidey) has something to do, which weirds out Tombstone.

Again, all this stuff is fine.  Great, even.  But, Wells crosses the line for me when, yet fucking again, he breaks up MJ and Peter.  To make matters worse, MJ tells Peter to stop calling her and has children (or at least step-children) with some guy named Paul.  Fuck that shit.  Seriously.  I've been reading Spider-Man for 40 years and I am so fucking over fake MJ drama.  I just can't.  I can't even finish this review.  I know that I'll just be gritting my teeth until the inevitable moment when they're reunited.  I need a drink.

Knights of X #1 (April 27):  I didn't read "Excalibur" and I haven't been too thrilled with Howard's previous work.  I'm mostly here for a reunited Rictor and Shatterstar.  But, this issue shows a lot of promise.  

Howard does a great job of laying out status quo without too much exposition.  We learn that Saturnyne has lost her title as Omniversal Majestrix to Merlin, who's using supersized Furies (who look like Sentinels) to hunt down "witchbreed" (i.e., mutants).  King Arthur serves as his general given Arthur's belief that mutantkind stole his son, Mordred, from him (since Mordred is witchbreed).  Betsy and the Captain Britain Corps are rescuing Otherworld's witchbreed (including Joshua) and bringing them to the Lavender Citadel, where Saturnyne stews over the loss of her throne.  As the portal to Krakoa is closed, Betsy seeks help from Roma, but she doesn't have troops to spare, as her fey were some of Merlin's first victims.  But, given the fey's powers come from stories, she tells Betsy that she can send her to Krakoa one time to gather knights for a quest.

On Krakoa, Betsy assembles a team of former Excalibur members who agree to help her.  She and Rictor work with the Five to resurrect Mordred, but, since they're using an Otherworld - and not Cerebro - recording of his personality, they're not sure who they'll get.  However, it doesn't seem to matter when Mordred's body disappears once he's resurrected.  To make matters worse, Jubilee doesn't appear on the other side of the gate when the team crosses it, as it seems that it's Shogo's, and not her, quest.

With only seven allies (Bei the Blood Moon, Gambit, Meggan, Prestige, Rictor, Shatterstar, and Shogo), Betsey and company go to find Kylun at Meggan and Prestige's suggestion.  When they find them, they enter an initial skirmish with Arthur's forces, only for a young Mordred to appear and help them.  With a full team, the quest reveals itself:  Betsy and company have to find the Siege Perilous.  But, Merlin has other plans for it, as he believes that they can de-mutant Mordred (I think) if they send him through the Siege.

It seems like a lot, but, as I said, Howard does a great job throwing all this information at us without it seeming like a slog.  Although I'm here for Rictor and 'Star lovin', I'm also totally down with this plot.

Past the Last Mountain #1 (April 27):  This series is the flipside of "The Realm:"  here, the humans won a war with magical creatures 50 years ago.  At this stage, it's unclear if the magical creatures invaded Earth (like in "The Realm") or if we're dealing with a different Earth where the races always coexisted.

In the present, a troll escapes from the Westfield Penal Preserve in Montana, where the U.S. government is keeping the creatures who survived the war as well as their descendants.  A troll named Abby escapes.  Neil, the Preserve's new director, and Trevor, one of the Preserve's zoologists, quickly realize she did so as a distraction.  From a nearby cliff, Abby's son Simon watches an agent kill her when Abby threatens Trevor.  His companions, Kate (a Faun) and Willa (a dragon), are escorting him to the mythical "Dragon Lake," which Simon (and apparently Abby) believes leads to freedom.  Kate doesn't believe so, but, for some reason, she's fulfilling Abby's wish to get Simon there.  Agents eventually discover the trio's camp only for Willa to reveal that she's fire-capable, despite Trevor previously telling the agents that they had removed her fire glands.

As good as the main story is, it's the series of short "war stories" at the end that make this book.  We watch as humans and creatures struggle with their relationships as the U.S. government suddenly declares creatures the enemy in 1972.  The authors hint that the government's declaration wasn't entirely unprovoked as the United States alone seemed to experience, as one character says, "griffin terrorism, the Centaur Liberation Army, the..."  Given the United States' isolation in the wake of its declaration, this series also has "Undiscovered Country" parallels.

In other words, it's a solid debut.  Allor and Joyce do a great job of presenting us with both an emotionally engaging story and a fully realized world.  I'm definitely coming back next issue.

Star Wars:  Crimson Reign #4 (April 27):  Like Sergeant Creel, I feel like it's almost criminal that Marvel hasn't given us more focus on Ren and his Knights.  My disappointment is particularly acute here, as both Qi'ra and Vader allude to the Knights' illustrious past and now faded glory.  Ren sees a chance to win back some of that honor by working for Qi'ra.  That said, the job involves breaking into Fortress Vader on Mustafar to steal the "Screaming Key," which opens a door whose whereabouts only Qi'ra (and notably not Palpatine or Vader) knows.  But, Qi'ra plan for Ochi's assassination of the Emperor's guards fails to keep Vader off Mustafar, and he appears at the end to take out the Knights.  They escape with the key, but they're now on the Emperor's hit list.  Given that Ren's impetus for taking this job was, in part, striking the Emperor before the Knights made their way up said list (for their shadow-using powers), I'm not sure the Knights are heading to the bright future Ren hoped to see.