Alright so this issue was different. There’s a lot of moving parts as the story and world gets bigger, but at the same time it’s kind of just a bunch of character moments. I liked it, but it just came across as a very different issue compared to previous Hoax Hunter issues, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s nice to see the series changing and developing and I think part of that stems from the art. The issue kicks off with Donovan and Regan as they make their way up a mountain to fight a demon. They stop by a stream and their guide Montero beings talking about the Devil’s Blindness and how stories and names of stories stem from some reality. Montero nearly spills the beans about Donovan’s deceased wife, but Donovan cuts him off and sends him back down the mountain. They press on towards the demon’s lair as we bounce over to the other half of the team.
In Indiana the team is getting rocked by four Thunderbirds. I kind of thought that Reece’s replacement wasn’t supposed to know what they were doing, but I think I’m terribly wrong as she’s a part of the action and ah… gets carried away by one of the Thunderbirds. In all fairness it was after Jack killed one of the birds, but then one of the birds killed their camera man… you know this is a dangerous game of tit-for-tat that they’re playing. The point is that now they have to save Lauren from the birds before they kill her, but back up is on the way!
Back up the mountain Donovan is about to have his showdown with the demon, but nothing about this situation plays out how you’d think.
Overall the story is good. There was almost too much going on and it was hard to decide which side of the story I was more interested in and which one struggled because of the other side. It’s tough to say. On the Indiana side of things the team is basically just go,go, go action the entire time, but I didn’t get the sense of danger there. You know they’re going to win and sure there was a casualty (or possibly just a major injury), but the guy was a red-shirt to begin with. I really liked all the different story elements coming into play, but I’m more interested in future issues now. Whatever is coming to this series is definitely going to be different from the series’ norm. I did feel that resolution for Regan’s back story was over and done far too quickly. I really wanted emotional pay off, but instead it was rather rushed. I think there could have been more time spent here to show the emotional effects of what happened on her young psyche.
T-Rex knocks it out of the park again. I dig the style and think that it definitely adds to the story. My only gripe is that Ken looks a little too creepy. I liked him looking like a strange old man, but he’s really creepy now. Otherwise the action was decent, but I would have liked to have seen more panels for the different fights. I’d assume that there just wasn’t the room due to the split story. Overall though I’m personally happy with the new art direction and look forward to seeing more as it T-Rex becomes more and more comfortable with the characters and series.
If you’ve been missing out on this series then you could actually start with this issue. You’ll be a bit lost on whom the characters are and what their jobs are exactly, but the big story line hasn’t kicked off yet. If you miss this chance you’ll have a lot of catch up to do since the series looks to be heading towards a pretty damn big event.
Score: 3/5
Writers: Michael Moreci & Steve Seeley Artist: T-Rex Jones Publisher: Fifth World and Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 10/9/13