Now with its issue number well into the double digits, Revival #20 solidifies why it is among my absolute favorite current ongoing series. I know it’s still early in May but my prediction is that this issue along with the debut issue of Nailbiter will be the best I will read this month. This issue is so good that I really don’t even want to talk about the plot so you go out and buy it if you’re on the fence whether to or not. I will say that things are obviously heating up even more and Dana is walking on thin ice regarding Em’s run-in with the Check brothers. Investigators have found out that the Check brothers were selling reviver organs to a distributor in New York who believes that eating these parts will result in immortality (gross, right?). Dana is also shown footage of a reviver in New York City, and is told she will be sent there to investigate.
Other than that, there’s so much that happens-you definitely get every penny worth out of this issue. It’s another one of those instances where I feel the more I read Revival and become a fan of it, the less I know--which is exactly what I want when reading a “rural noir” such as this. New characters are introduced, a new setting is looming over the horizon, and a dark past is revealed that will make you change the way you look at one of the main players in the story.
Mike Norton’s art continues to be a perfect match for Tim Seeley’s storytelling. As always, his portrayal of facial expressions really hits home, especially another heartbreaking exchange between Cooper and Dana when Dana realizes she could be losing her son to her loser ex-boyfriend. The hazy, worst-case-scenario thoughts of Dana in the opening panels grabbed my attention immediately and this issue had me hanging on until the end, which had arguably the best cliffhanger this series has seen so far.
While many other series falter when getting into this depth of issue number territory, Revival remains as great as ever and still reels me in like it did the first time I read the debut issue.
Score: 5/5
Writer: Tim Seeley Artist: Mike Norton Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 5/7/14 Format: Ongoing, Print/Digital