Yes, this review is very late. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn’t get this book until this week, and while that means that this isn’t a very useful review, I’m certainly not complaining about having two issues of this series this week.

Story-wise, this issue makes me very happy. Someone finally calls Ice out on what a whiny bitch she’s been for this whole series, which, while not as good as Winnick deciding to write her in-character, is a welcome change from him pretending that her points are valid. Rocket Red continues to be the best thing about this series, and his interaction with Skeets this issue is pure gold. Even Booster gets a moment of awesome, and it’s nice to see him get treated as something other than a joke.

I’m not crazy about the “big reveal” at the end, but that’s just because I think this series should stay as far away from Brightest Day as possible. Yes, I know it’s a Brightest Day book, but I haven’t heard anything good about BD since I dropped it, while this title has been reasonably strong all the way through.

Unfortunately, the art this issue is pretty janky. I know I said I would stop complaining about artists who can’t draw Max’s face, but here’s the thing: If you are an artist who can’t draw Max’s face, don’t try to draw Kevin Maguire-esque facial expressions on him. There was a panel that made me go “augh!” out loud. Also, I’m pretty sure I never said I would stop talking about Max looking like a ‘roided-out freak, but that’s because Max-looking-like-a-‘roided-out-freak has never been an issue before now. Seriously, Mr. Dagnino, what the heck? And the weirdest thing is, everyone else looked basically fine (though the ass shot of Fire in the beginning was pretty gratuitous.) It’s just Max who looks like an action figure with a melted face.