Mind the Gap has been one of the most consistent titles of the last five months of its existence. The title is an ongoing (attempted) murder mystery at heart, with elements of soap opera and the supernatural mixed in. The story focuses on Elle Peterssen and her attack in a New York subway, which has left her unconscious. Elle’s mind still exists in “The Garden,” a plane between life and death where she’s able to commute with others in the same or similar situation. In the real world we follow Elle’s friends, family, and the doctors and police involved.

This issue gives us some insight to the affluent Elle’s wrong-side-of-the-tracks boyfriend, Dane Miller. Jim McCann’s script flows smoothly from frame story to flashback and back to frame story. McCann has a good ear for dialogue and the characters’ interactions only add to their depth. While the character work done during the flashback to Dane’s past is interesting, we do run into a few clichés. Dane’s runaway mom and the drunken, abusive father left to raise his son. Hell, this isn’t the only comic I bought this week, dealing with the drunk, abusive father of a teenager (see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #14). To McCann’s credit the meet-cute between Elle and Dane was one of the best and most natural I’ve seen, almost to the point the term meet-cute doesn’t apply. There are two game changing twists to the overall story in the final few pages. The first adds a whole new layer of intrigue to an already grossing mystery. The second has been hinted at since the series began.

The frame story is handled by series regular, Rodin Esquejo, which is brilliant as usual. His covers on Morning Glories actually deterred me from picking up that title, as regardless of who did the interiors I knew they couldn’t possibly hold up. Esquejo’s figures are stiff in places, but this a common trade off with such detailed rendering and artistic realism. Even as Esquejo strives for a photo realistic style, he never forgets he’s drawing a comic book, and the art never becomes a Fumetti hybrid.

The flashback scene is handled by an erroneously uncredited, Adrian Alphona. Alphona’s work here differs fairly drastically from what I remember on Runaways. It’s nearly a cross between Frank Quitely and Skottie Young, while remaining something completely original. It perfectly suits Dane’s point of view, and the framing story and flashback is an inspired way to give the Esquejo a break. I hope this is a technique McCann continues to use any time Esquejo is in need of a breather. It benefits future collected editions and serves a story such as this, where flashbacks are integral. I’d love to see Alphona return, but McCann could also do this regularly with each character getting a flashback from a different artists.

Mind the Gap continues along its way revealing answers and inviting more questions with each issue. McCann has this serious meticulously planned out and encourages readers to follow the hints sprinkled in to try and solve the case. I for one I’m more than content to be a long for the ride, and can’t wait to be stunned by the revelations from those final few issues, which hopefully are a long way coming.