Things get more complicated.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jonathan Tsuei
Art: Stacey Lee
Colors: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Jim Campbell
What They Say:
With their differences behind them, the Fox, the Hare, and Aurora set out to crack the encrypted data they stole from Synastry Designs, but a new threat arrives in Mazu Bay. Prime Minister Moorhouse unveils the Knights of Mazu, his new private army. The local mercenaries are nervous and raring for a fight. The Knights of Mazu are armed to the teeth and moving in. Can the Fox and the Hare diffuse this powder keg or will it bring them all down?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having read a few series from Jonathan Tsuei over the years, I’m always interested when a new project comes up. But as I’ve said, you have to go into each of them at this point understanding that it may take a few issues to be able to wrap my head around the worldbuilding concept that they’re trying to bring forth. This is harder when there are a couple of months between issues as well, such as this one and the first one. Tsuei’s focus is on the characters first and that means for me it takes a bit to connect with the world they inhabit, which is why my mind tries to deconstruct and understand first. Tsuei’s paired with Stacey Lee as the artist and we get a really good-looking book here with some really fun designs, especially for the masks, and some of the settings. Particularly with Raul Angulo’s color design that goes for the vibrancy in a neat way with some of the choices.
The premise continues to be interesting in a way that reminds me of the Chung Kuo novels I read years ago as we get to know Mazu Bay more. With Aurora being protected, it’s done well to show how they manage to try and keep her safe for the moment while dealing with the way that she almost gets them caught a few times. It’s amusingly frustrating in a way but it fits for her even though she’s not as young as she looks here. We do get a bit more of her past in why she came to this city after things with her work and her mother in her original city after her father left and that helps to flesh out the character just a bit more. And as is usually done, we get to see some of Mazu City through her eyes as a recent transplant trying to find her way.
What unfolds around them while trying to get a safe place to spend some time is understanding the nature of what’s going on. The leadership in the Prime Minister, who is likely just a puppet for Synastry anyway, has revealed the Knights of Mazu as part of the 500-year celebration since the city’s founding. That sets off a number of people considering how they feel about Mazu and makes things incredibly problematic. But Synastry is in control here and while they’re on the hunt for Aurora and the data, they’re very intent through the Knights to secure more of the city. It’s all about control and that has the various factions looking to work together more but they’re being manipulated as well. It’s interesting to watch unfold as it plays out but I again come back to the feeling that this is going to be a series that will need a full readthrough in order to really connect all of the dots with how Tsuei is laying them out.
In Summary:
I really like the concepts and ideas here but the execution is taking some time to really get into the rhythm of it. And I expected that, even more so once we saw the gap between issues. I like what we get in this one for understanding things more with how the city is organized and especially getting more background for Aurora as that definitely helps to make her more accessible. There’s some simple but fun action with it and it moves things forward incrementally enough that it works but it also feels like it needs to hit something in the next issue so that it really connects right in order to go forward.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: August 3rd, 2022
MSRP: $3.99
