The team starts to come together and realizes what they’re up against.
Creative Staff:
Story: Gail Simone
Art: Sergio Davila
What They Say:
The genre-busting, time-hopping epic heroine crossover continues! In the midst of WWII, reluctant allies Miss Fury and the Black Sparrow are joined by an epic host of heroines from different worlds and eras to fight an invasion taking place right on Broadway! Featuring Red Sonja, Eva (the daughter of Dracula), Lady Zorro, and more! Don’t miss the funnest, bawdiest, sword-slingingest crossover event ever!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s been an interesting experience reading the Swords of Sorrow series because as time has gone on, we’ve had two main installments and now this third one. but in between those, there’ve been a number of one-shots and miniseries going on that have made me feel a lot more connected to some of the characters than I expected. So when we get to the main series, it’s definitely fun, but there’s this sense of let’s get on with things because of what I’ve read so far elsewhere. There’s a good push coming from the supporting series that makes you want this one to get to the bigger moments, and enjoying seeing the cast you’ve seen come together elsewhere feel more realized here.
This installment largely plays in two areas, the biggest of which is in 1939 where Black Sparrow and Miss Fury are watching a radio show in the theater being performed about their past exploits, only to have it presented in such an awful and twisted way that there’s plenty of righteous fury over it. It’s a familiar twist on how things change to suit the times, and how the past is reworked for present-day agendas, which plays nicely into the world of comics these days, though I think the present day is largely on the right path as opposed to these radio dramas. The ladies here find themselves ready to throw a fit, but before they can really let loose, some Terror Crows show up from the enemy’s side that are searching for the Philosopher’s Stone and are ready to cause a whole lot of trouble to get it.
There’re a lot of great moments in the smaller parts of the issue, such as when Fury and Sparrow go to get their costumes and change amid the crowds running out, having no modesty. It’s not exactly better than the old phone booth bit, but there’s an ownership of themselves here in how they do it that’s utterly fun. As it progresses, we do get the arrival of more teams from the various timelines making their way in and helping out, which leads to a sprawling brawl in the theater with the Terror Crows. It gets mighty crowded as it goes on, which is to be expected with the cast, and the team that’s slowly coming together realizes the need for some big and powerful players, especially as the world is beginning to change before their eyes.
The other main storyline going on here involves the villain of the series, who is now receiving a courier from The Traveller that basically informs him that he’s lost this game already. What’s interesting about is is in seeing the way the main male of the series deals with this, as his confidence is certainly there, but as it’s revealed to him who he truly is and why he’s lost, you have to wonder at the validity of it. I mean, it’s pretty much a given, but there’s always that potential twist that keeps you from making it a guarantee. It certainly explains some of his motivations for going as dark as he has, and there are permutations of this in other writings over the years as well to have fun with this character, so I’m curious to see what they do with this part of it now that he’s looking to get truly serious about what The Traveller is doing.
In Summary:
While I’m admittedly enjoying the side stories a lot more than the main series because it doesn’t feel as crowded, there’s a lot going on here and the series is at that pivotal mark where events are having to change because things just got real. There’s a lot of fun in watching Sparrow and Fury in the opening section of the book, as well as the rest of the gang making their way into it, but it’s the crowded kind of busy fun that requires a couple of re-reads to really take it all in. Especially with Davila’s artwork as he puts in a good bit of detail that’s not washed out by the dark coloring. I’m curious about the truth behind what the courier has revealed, and while I’ll put some stock in it, I won’t invest fully yet just on the off chance there’s a trick ahead. The event overall is doing the trick for me in getting me interested in a lot of these characters, so hopefully there’ll be some good works taking place after this is all said and done as well to maintain the potential new readers.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: July 8th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
