[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Juan Ferreyra
Summary
Emiko’s life hangs in the balance while Team Arrow and Shado continue to face Moira and Merlyn.
Positives
The cover by Juan Ferreyra is amazing. Oliver’s face in the outline of Emiko is a haunting image and looks wonderful. The black background adds a lot of atmosphere and dread to the piece.
The interior art, also by Ferreyra, is great. I love how Ferreyra plays with fire and colors in general. Like all of Ferreyra’s issues, there is a unique style that not only fits the material but enhances it.
There are a lot of great character beats from Benjamin Percy. My favorite is with Black Canary. After Emi is shot, Shado’s first instinct is to kill Moira. Ollie wants to leave with Emi but Dinah stays to stop Shado from killing Moira. There is something innately heroic about that. Moira shot someone Dinah loved and she has the emotional maturity to spare that person. I also love that Dinah is the one with the more heroic instincts. Additionally, I think the Diggle side of the story is handled with a lot of maturity. It shows a lot of growth for both Ollie and Digg.
The issue plays out in the most satisfying manner to me. It’s a weird thing to describe but the story moves in a way that is exciting. There’s an optimism to the issue that really appeals to me. I feel good after reading this.
Negatives
There are no negatives worth mentioning in this issue.
Verdict
This is a great issue. Ferreyra knocks it out of the park every time he works on the book. The issue focuses on the characters and the emotions surrounding the situation both of which are handled exceptionally well by Percy. The action is also really cool; Shado is the ultimate badass. It’s one of the best issues of the current run which is actually saying a lot considering how strong this book has been.
