4 out of 5

Man, the Heat Seeker side series are so much fun. And… arguably more fun than the main series, where, as I’ve griped before, the balance between porno cheesecake and pulp narrative can feel a little off. Maybe that’s an artist thing, but I do think it’s baked into the tone: Dahlia Racers was written in a bit more of a no-nonsense fashion, so the boobies here are often as a result of everyone just being cool with being nude all the time, and not necessarily because every few scenes requires seduction. Though on the art front, Ace Continuado does prove that not every action shot needs to be a crotch shot.

Exposed also has a very fun ante up: with Gun Honey, the “stakes” are based around the op the lead undertakes; that’s true enough for Dahlia as well, but since her whole shtick is about keeping herself and her clients unknown – she’s witsec for the criminal class – a plot based around exposing all the secretiveness spells pretty much the end of her career. It also gives Ardai an opportunity to poke at social media a bit, as the threat of exposure comes via online journalist Jacqueline Mcgee, who’s out for the biggest headlines possible by outing Racers. Granted, Ardai doesn’t really poke too much – I think one of the unfortunate parts of this run is that Mcgee is a pretty empty character, and the social media aspect feels like it’s written by, ahem, an old man – but as a broad sendup of careless sensationalism, it totally works.

As does… everything else. Continuado has such a lovely, slick style that’s married well to Asifur Rahman’s blotchy coloring, and he gives his various leading ladies a lot of character just through posture (which can be fun, when dealing with a lead who often goes undercover in various disguises). On occasion, there are some odd flubs in posture, or splash pages that maybe could’ve used some more detailing to really splash, but on the whole, Ace nails the breezy adventure vibe of the whole thing, with the pacing really being of utmost importance and what is maintained effectively throughout.

Ardai has a bit too much fun with “easter egg” references to pretty normie movies (sorry, Chuck; you call them deep cuts but… Alien? A deep cut?), but it definitely adds to Evie’s personality a whole bunch, and even when you can see some tricks coming a mile out, they’re executed with panache. Again, just the general gist is a win, and really sets the whole strip on run, right from the start.

Hopefully this isn’t the last Heat Seeker mini, but even if so, it’s a great way to go out.