5 out of 5

Another swift and masterful one-shot of duality.

The Esu gather post Rathraq’s rampage to air their grievances in front of their leader; Rathraq – Apache in tow – chases a rat through the sewers.  For an issue that features comparatively little of its lead Bobby and his friend/sidekick Del, as well as issue that can be summarized with the simple description above, there’s still a whole lot going on.  Through the Esu meeting there’s talk of persistence, as well as acceptance of the status quo; Bobby discusses his mother’s probable forever condition in a vegetative state, while Timah, at the hospital considers the same, but from the perspective of a healer; Rathraq discusses heart and heroism with Apache, before becoming dispirited in his literal descent to the level of chasing vermin from his once great heights.  There’s no need, at this point, to remark on how amazing the Stewart / Harren duo is, but – man.  Arcudi gives Harren plenty of room to go buck-inventive wild with the Esu creatures, and the chase sequence is a breath-takingly thrilling as all of Harren’s actionry is.

Such a deceptively simple issue, rife with emotional parallels and well-seeded interactions that continue to open up this world and its characters.