Rise definitely took a dip for me personally with the last issue. It wasn’t bad, but the first two issues were really good and the third was a bit of a head scratcher. Now, it’s all clear which doesn’t exactly change how I felt about the third issue, but with the context I’m not confident in the series again. I’ve been trying something new with my reviews and just custom writing a synopsis, but that’s really hard with the Double Take books because there’s a bit of a mystery unfolding in each issue and it often times has importance to the entire universe not just the series. That’s true here as we learn about the hive mind that we’ve seen throughout the different books. Really I would say that Dedication and Rise are the two most important titles this week as they each give you one part of the changes that have happened.

Basically Johnny isn’t exactly what I thought he was. Maybe he’s what you thought he was, but I wasn’t expecting it and it was a nice surprise. It answered some questions as well. The encampment which has been alluded to being a bombing site is also pretty much confirmed when the story checks in with the President. Oh and Barbara takes zero shit from everyone. EVERYONE!

The writing is good. We hear the end of Johnny’s story and it continues to help his characterization, but we also get a lot of much needed dialogue. Up until this point the story hasn’t needed a lot of dialogue. It’s been very much a visual story, but now as the mystery unfolds more it’s needed and thankfully it doesn’t feel out of place.

It’s also a well-researched story. The Double Take crew in general has made sure to get their facts straight and while I’m not going to do any fact checking because I don’t care, it really does come across that they put the time and effort in knowing that some comic book fans would crave that in the story.

The art returns to form. The third issue took a dip in my opinion. Again, it wasn’t bad, but this is improved. This series had a look and a style to it when a lot of the other titles didn’t and while they’ve all got to that point now, this was the first that stood out to me. I like the look of the book and the coloring. It’s duller and muted tones, but it gives it a distinct look. That and the lighting effects are really good and that’s something I appreciate in coloring.

As I said, Rise is really important this week. I do feel there’s some pages with the President that aren’t as helpful to the story as the rest, but I do love the way it ends. You could say that Rise is on the rise! I couldn’t resist.

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