So after Matt Fraction wrote issue #16 and completely knocked that issue out of the park, I began to feel a little bit worried about this series.  After what seemed like a long time, Fraction was finally writing the book at an amazing level, and now he was leaving, giving a new writer, who just may take a long time to get comfortable with the character.  But after reading this issue, I’m not worried…not in the least.

What amazes me about this issue is that Swierczynski is able to come in and pick up right where Fraction left off.  In this issue, Jeryn is still retired, Danny and Luke are fighting crime in the streets, Danny’s still getting rid of all his money and things with Misty are still questionable.  And the cliffhanger from last issue plays out perfectly, and I’m truly interested to see where it’s going to take us.  I mean, I’m sure they’re not toing to kill Danny Rand, but it will be interesting to see how he gets out of this predictament while also balancing everything else that’s going on in his life.

The art by Travel Foreman was pretty good, but it fails to live up to David Aja, who is next to impossible to live up to.  While Aja’s look for the book was darker tones with a sketchy detail, Foreman draws much like a Lenil Yu or Renato Guedes where a slightly brigther pallette is used and his lines are less detailed to give the book a kinetic energy at all times.  It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not great either.  I’m thinking that there is a lot of potential for his art to improve over time as he gets used to this book and it’s world.  The flashback artist, Russ Heath, also did an ok job, but I’m not a huge fan of his more classic, detailed look. 

I was surprised by the qualtity of this book as I was sure that no one could keep my interest after Fraction and Bru left, but Swierczynski has managed to craft a tale that’s keeping me in the game.  And there’s nothing wrong with that.