[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: Pop Mhan
Colors: Lovern Kindzierski & Carrie Strachan
Letters: Saida Temofonte
Summary
The hunt for the young arcanes gathers steam! Before they can bond as a team and find their strengths, Raven and Baron Winters’ new, young Night Force may be ground to dust under the hooves of the Shadow-Riders!
Positives
We are introduced to a new hero in this issue – Black Alice, another arcane who may join Baron Winters Night Force. We find her in Uruguay in the midst of hunting Shadow-Riders, which is different from the rest of the arcanes that Baron Winters have recruited, as she has no fear and is not the one being chased by these evil beings. Instead, she methodically hunts them in their own lairs.
In a rare moment of levity, Baron Winters unexpectedly tricks Raven into rescuing Black Alice – whose power is to absorb another arcane’s powers for her own – as she gets chased by a Shadow-Rider for a few panels. I have never seen Raven in fear of anyone, but luckily, she gets her powers back just in time for Winters to feel her anger. We also get a dose of reality in this issue as Raven’s mother gets called to her school. Her whereabouts for the most part have been unknown to those who aren’t arcanes. All of this stress has caused Raven’s school work to suffer as well as her personal relationships with her family, showing the reader that even Raven can’t have it all.
The Night Force finally finds out why the Shadow-Riders have been hunting arcanes across the world and the answer shakes them to their cores, as well as the reader, as the answer will surprise everyone. The history between these two races goes deep and has certain echoes to a mystery in Game Of Thrones.
Finally, a key recruit into the Night Force betrays them for their own gain, and welcomes the very beings into Winters’ home.
Negatives
There are no negatives worth mentioning in this issue.
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Verdict
This issue gives readers a rather fun, dark, morose and complicated story in this ninth chapter. The story by Wolfman throws in a few twists that no one saw coming. The art by Mhan feels like a 1970s comic in the best way possible. Altogether, this issue changes the game for all the characters involved, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
