I know what you’re thinking, “didn’t this book come out last week?” and you’re right, but it was a busy week and I didn’t get back around to it until now. This issue is actually a bit different from the previous four because none of the stories had a resolution. Even the Weirding Willows, which is always continuous, felt as if it stops in the middle of a story. It made for a very different issue, but I think it also shows that the series is working on its staying power by telling bigger stories.

I’m actually going to talk about Odyssey first since it’s always last and I think that it’s underrated. The world Elliott has created is frankly amazing. Yes it’s gleaming elements of Marvel comics all over, but it has this sharp Ultimates feel to it that makes it real. Every time a new character is introduced it’s interesting to see what the variation will be. In this issue John goes up against a man who can turn himself into a God, which in a way makes him like Thor and the Hulk. It’s very cool, but what’s better is that the story continues to jump around to different moments in John’s life, but manages to work very effectively with the overall narrative. The artwork continues to be gorgeous as usually and really brings out the realism to the story.

The Weirdling Willows takes several twists and turns and leaves the series in an interesting spot. The rubies are revealed and I’m sure that this element alone will change a great deal. There’s also a lot of sadness and fear in this issue as Alice’s father discovers her with the talking animals. There’s a lot of plot set up in this chapter which doesn’t make it the strongest installment, but I’m sure we’ll have plenty of payoff develop from this issue. The art of course is good. The character expressions really sell the different emotions of the chapter.

Last of course is Carpe Diem. This part was very different because the story actually continues into the next issue which it’s never done before. It also breaks from the pattern on Sir Monday, but I’ll let you discover the how’s and why’s of that. The humor was also a lot lighter in this chapter, but overall the story was still good and the cliffhanger ensures that the story is going to be a romp in the next issue. The art style continues to be beautiful with a lot of credit going to the coloring. The story just looks great and the Life Aquatic reference on the cover big a big dumb grin on my face.

Overall I’m still really enjoying this series. I enjoyed it enough that I wrote a review a week after its release which is something I rarely do. At this point you might be a little lost within if you picked up this issue, but you can get single chapters of each story digitally which is a great way to catch up or just follow your favorite series. Personally though, I’m going to continue with the full issue so that I can see where all three tales are heading.

Score: 4/5

Writers: Dave Elliot and W.H. Rauf Artists: Garrie Gastonny, Barnaby Bagenda and Rhoald Marcellius Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 10/9/13