When you look forward to something so much sometimes it lets you down. I kind of feel this way, but it was a good ending to “Sect Civil War”; so I’m torn. Archer has successfully led factions of the sect to the lost pyramid to get the wheel of Aten for the exchange of Armstrong. Actually is more of a distraction. Armstrong is the one the Sect wants to kill and destroy because of the past. As everyone attacks Armstrong, Archer sneaks away to the tomb where the wheel is buried. This is actually all part of Archer’s plan: distract the Sect with Armstrong and take the wheel so he can use it for the good he has planned. The problem is Mary-Maria can see through his plan and she is joined by the Sister of Perpetual Darkness.
There is of course the lover quarrel here but Mary-Maria says it’s a great plan, but the wheel has already been taken. She and the sisters have disabled all subs and now will not let anyone survive by blowing up the entrances/exits. Archer realizes his folly because Armstrong isn’t immortal if he is attacked enough and runs out of the energy the Boon has given him. He also realizes his betrayal of his best friend and now the wheel is gone; he flees to Armstrong’s side and to escape from the impending doom. As the exits are blown and everybody starts to scramble for survival Archer take the lead to get to the highest point in the pyramid. This might not be the exit but they will make one.
The story is action packed and I mean packed. This much is what you should expect from this type of story and the ending to this arc. Just to get where I was disappointed is how it ended; I expected more bloodshed and strife. I expect the sect to almost kill each other out.
Now to what I enjoyed is the friendship and bond between Archer and Armstrong is restored. You are seeing new enemies arising. And the best part it builds to the crossover event that is going to happen. I love the art style here it just captures everything nicely. Also I love how over the top the Sect factions are drawn to stereotypes of each group. You can also see the vulnerability of Armstrong finally when he is under attack. The art also captures the emotion of the hardness of Mary, Archer growing back his heart toward Armstrong and the desperation of hope in Armstrong as he is pinned to the floor.
If you are keeping up with this title you have to pick this up because you have to know the end. If you want to jump on this title you could if you find some of the previous issues, but next month would be better. All in all this title is one of the best out there.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Fred Van Lente Artist: Khari Evans with ChrisCross Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Release: 1/15/14