A moment of happiness that cannot last.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Mirka Andolfo
Colors: J. Nanjan
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Before anyone can come to terms with what their enemy has revealed, the team and their temporary allies must cheat death by finding a way through the collapsing maze.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While parts of this arc in Spain haven’t quite gotten me as interested as I would have liked, Marguerite Bennett has been crafting the larger arc well and there has been some solid payoff already. The reveal of Jason being alive may have been a bit predictable once the Lazarus Pit was brought into play but it’s the depth of character from the two series combined that makes it work so well. And it’s even more ideal this time around as Mirka Andolfo definitely delivers when it comes to the body language and facial expressions that we get out of Kate and Renee as it makes you feel it completely, to understand what they’re going through and why they’re acting as they are.
More than half of this issue focuses on the joy of the reunion as Kate and Renee are essentially staying very close to Jason, or just looking at him constantly while he goes about his studies or eating some of the food in Talia’s stores. There’s such a depth of love that exists in this group that it really does hit home because we’ve seen all that they’ve been through and it resonates. There are cute moments to be had because Jason does allow that to happen with his looks and the way the other two dote on him but there’s also some fun in seeing how Cheetah does her best to get close at one point and is swatted away. You could easily imagine a slice of life book with these three existing as a family in normal times and it being utterly delightful with all involved.
Talia, however, knows that danger lurks above and that Adam is going to redouble his efforts now that this Pit is down to one use. And the book does shift in that direction toward the end but not before bringing Miri Marvel into play. With Talia talking to Kate about they’ve largely abandoned allies and Kate hasn’t gotten in touch with Maggie in an age, it’s no surprise that someone would come looking for her. Miri’s arrival is one that’s essentially a part of a trap by Adam to get what he needs but it plays out wonderfully as her youthful innocence has her trying to do right by freeing some political prisoners and getting caught up in Adam’s schemes. I really liked Miri from what we saw of her previously and bringing her back into this storyline is going to open some new doors I think.
In Summary:
Providing for some quality downtime for Kate and Renee to connect with Jason after the staggering loss of him before is definitely the best thing. It’d be terrible if it went right to the action instead of giving both women – and Jason – time to bond again and actually have some joy and happiness. Bennett sets up what’s to come and we know it’s going to be rough as hell but it’s going to take some interesting turns with Miri’s arrival, I think. The story is solid here and Mirka Andolfo does a fantastic job with some really great pages here, particularly for Kate, as we see this unfold. I really dug the Miri scenes as well with the sense of impending doom but it’s the time down below with Kate and Renee that shined the most.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 29th, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
