More than meets the eye.

Things get explosive in Drew Edward Johnson’s third issue of his super-powered secret agency tale.  Trapped in the most known loch in the world with a creature of incredible size and power, Matilda Finn tries to keep herself and the hapless Billy the Sub Pilot safe from the rampaging beastie.  We finally find out what she can do, and just how powerful she is.

Exiting their crushed vehicle, Finn (Y’all are gonna love the pun, once you see it.) seeks shelter and safety for herself and her charge, which proves to be not so easy in the home turf of a magnificent, serpent-like monster.  Without giving anything away, Matilda is perfectly suited for this type of engagement and quickly applies her sharp mind to the problem plaguing the quiet Loch Ness.  We’re left questioning whether she’ll be able to contend with a critter that outmasses her by several orders of magnitude.  Once again, Johnson impresses with his quick style and overall storytelling arc.

The art is somewhat why we’re here, and it’s once again filling the panels with gorgeous action and stunning vignettes that evoke all of the tension and horror in a wonderful way.  There’s a fantastic design to Matilda’s special abilities, and we’re treated to a flashback backstory that gives us an even better look into this fascinating character.  There are some moments when action seems to take a backseat to the Spiderwoman effect, where anatomy and active positioning seem to be secondary to accentuating form.  This only happens in a couple of panels, but the focus seems evident when a couple of poses don’t seem to be indicative of the entire larger action.  It’s not as jarring as other examples of this, but it caught my eye a time or two.

This is a great series that really lets its hero uncork for the first time, and the simultaneous action and tactical thought make her a force to be reckoned with.  Facing a creature that’s only concern with her is perhaps choking on a protruding bone or two, we’re treated to more of her story just as we’re really hoping for it, and fighting a force of nature to boot.  I can’t wait to see how nuts the final issue makes people when it launches next month.

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