3 out of 5

Pretty good, pretty good, with some *cough* Greysuit *cough* exceptions.

So let’s jump right to that cleverly cough-disguised thrill, shall we?

My incredibly mixed feelings toward Mills are nothing new, but this particular entry feels like a lowlight.  Greysuit has long been a title without characters for whom to root.  The revenge focused Blake isn’t engaging, and the baddies he hunts down and off come across as faceless proxies for Mills to hang his cantankerous political / social grievances upon.  As we apparently get to the top tier of targets with this portion of the series, nothing much has changed except that there’s no longer any question as to John Blake’s pretty much imperviousness.  Add to that John Higgins somewhat phoning in his work – lots of static panels – and a complete lack of scene transitioning from Mills, and this is a pretty bummer of a read.

Next on the totem pole, from bottom to top, is, alas, Rennie’s Rogue Trooper-world tale, Furies.  While the brewing plotting of getting the Nords and Southers to team up against an alien for has been interesting, the series’ character focus is otherwise wildly insane, making it difficult to tell if we’re supposed to be siding with someone or just reading this as an excerpt from the war.  Every time you start to get interested in a point of view, we leap to another character and then start over.  It’s not unentertaining – and there’s that lovely PJ Holden art – but it’s by no means a gripping tale.

All else in this month’s batch is good to gold.  The Dredd spot finishes up Michael Carroll’s drug peddler hunt, with the incredibly fun Ouroboros baiting and leading Dredd to his quarry, and then Wags steps in with a follow up to an older tale – the destruction of Sov One.  The thrill relies heavily in history (even employing original artist Dan Cornwell), but that same sensibility, plus Wagner’s generally reliable pacing and ear for dialogue, keep it fascinating even for new readers.

Rennie also starts a 3riller about a demon occupied world.  It’s fairly generic, with notes from Deadworld and its ilk, but it’s cool seeing something so massive compressed to three parts, and Karl Richardson’s muscley art is a great match.

Rennie also also kicks off another Alienist story (with Emma Beeby), which thus far fulfills the expectations I had for it, which is to say: It’s hecka good.  Madelyn’s drunken consort, Reginald Briggs, getting wrapped up in a time warp, while Madelyn deals with a zombie-leading, creepy spell-weaver, who would claim to be on her side in some greater battle.  It’s weird, funny and fascinating, and Eoin Colvey’s black and white art is a fantastic match, adding an old school IPC flair to things.

Who tops the pops?  Grey Area!  Abnett continues GA with a series of shorts / one-shots, grouped together, and he’s nursed his crew over multiple thrills into a batch of unique characters we dig and want to be around.  The return of Luwott is a highlight, and a perfect example of a story that only works internally: Recognizing the character, his behavior, and the ETC crew’s response all works based on what’s come before, which is very rewarding.