Dear Joshua Dysart, How dare you. How very dare you. You toy with my emotions like this again and I may just end up reading this series for the rest of my existence.
Signed,
Everyone that read the last issue.
Seriously though the last issue was a shocker; with a title like “Perfect Day” you know it’s going to go one of two ways, but never did I expect that ending. Well this issue picks up with Torque’s screams waking up the team. Noticeably absent is Peter as Faith and Charlene run to Torque’s room and find Kris holding a bloodied skateboard over a battered and bruised Torque. He gives out his last breath of air leaving the others to figure out what exactly is going on. Kris is convinced that she did the right thing leaving the team with a ton of issues to deal with. Most of all is dealing with Torque’s death, but also the scary fact that it was at Kris’ hands. Suddenly though Torque’s psychic projection comes on and everyone is wearing costumes. Torque wakes up and informs them that they’re all in Torquehalla.
Ah man this issue has bigger consequences then you can possibly know. It also explains things that noticeably jumped in the last issue. I even pointed one out in my review recap last time. Granted nothing is going to top the shock factor of the last issues ending, but the sense of dread I had from this issue was immense. It’s going to be a long month waiting for the next chapter of this series. I don’t know if it’s Valiant’s number one selling book, but it’s definitely their best title hands down.
What else can I say about the story other than it was an incredible journey? This issue is very emotional for nearly all of the characters. Kris’ moments are tough as she knows she has to do something and yet she now no longer has the trust of the team making her task harder. Then there’s Charlene who is wrestling with feelings for Kris (whether they be romantic or otherwise), the internal struggle of her emotions is present on her face throughout the issue. Lastly there is Faith who has probably the saddest moment in the entire series. My goodness if your heart doesn’t go out to this woman then you might very well be dead inside.
Kitson and company do a fantastic job on the art. As I said the story is an emotional journey and that is conveyed through the art the entire time. Every page you can see and fell the sadness on the character’s faces. Nothing is the same after Kris’ actions and though Torquehalla attempts to provide a distraction to them, it fails. The art does a great job of capturing the confusion, anger and most of all the despair of sadness that they’re all feeling. It’s pretty damn incredible.
If you’ve ever read a review of mine for this series then you’ll know that I think it’s incredible. I think it’s honestly one of the most overlooked comic series on the market and it’s a terrible shame. This issue is perhaps the best of the series and it’s just a normal issue. Nothing special going on really, just our team of Renegades trying to regroup after getting their asses handed to them in Vegas. Yet it’s more incredible than Marvel’s Infinity or DC’s Forever Evil… combined.
The argument could be made that every series that Valiant produces is their best and if that was the case with every comic company then the industry would look very different than it does. If you missed the last issue find it and buy this one while you’re at it, you won’t regret it.
Score: 5/5
Writer: Joshua Dysart Artists: Barry Kitson with Mark Pennington and Brian Level Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 9/18/13