Binary Gray returns and I have to say that this issue is a bit different from the previous issues. It definitely feel as if a major storyline ends here and that left me wondering what was planned for the ninth issue? I don’t know, but after this issue I know I’ll be back to find out. In the last issue, which by the way you should have read because otherwise I’m about to spoil something for you, we saw Alex go to his Mother only to find men from the Agency waiting for him.

This issue doesn’t pick up there, at least not yet. Instead we meet Alex’s father. He’s using his powers to perform wire taps for the FBI. After doing a good job and using his talents, he ends up on a special team that’s assigned to track down other people with genetic powers which later becomes… The Agency. I have to say finally learning a bit about Alex’s father has definitely added some intrigue to the series.

In the present we find Alex and his mother tied to chairs. The Agency boys are being super dickheads as they want Alex to come work for them and if he doesn’t they’ll kill his mother. First though he has to prove his skill and transfer money from certain accounts into the Agency’s account. Alex refuses at first and calls them out on this all being about money. Then they start in on his mom and he changes his tune.

This issue is very successful because it focuses in on Alex and his father. In some ways this is the origin issue for Alex. I’ll admit that the idea of “gifted” people hunting down other “gifted” people isn’t the most original, but writer Chris Charlton manages to add his own twist to it which you won’t see coming. The great thing is that it makes sense. It’s very logical and so with that it breaks from the norm of what you’ll be expecting.

Rowel Roque goes to work on this issue. He illustrates the present obviously, but then he also flashes back to Alex’s dad’s era. It’s very impressive and the first time I’ve seen Roque stretch his artistic muscle in such a way. The story has a fast pace and the art definitely keeps up with that.

There are still plenty of unanswered questions about this series, but what’s revealed here is enough to bring me back. That and the mystery behind Alex’s father has only been half answered. I don’t know what the next issue will be like, but I’m already looking forward to it.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Chris Charlton Artist: Rowel Roque Publisher: Assailant Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/20/14 Website