I know opinion has been mixed on this series, but I’ve loved it from day one. The 3-way web of intrigue Hickman has woven between SHIELD/Howling Commandos, Leviathan, and Hydra has been engrossing and from issue to issue we have experienced a gradual upwards spiral from a simmering conflict to a full-blown war.

As much as I enjoyed the writing in this issue, the art was disappointing. After 20 issues of solid art, this issue featured poorly drawn faces, and visuals that just generally failed to convey the excitement and emotion of the story. I hesitate to blame the new artist, Marko Colak, completely – with both he and Vitti sharing credit for the art it’s unclear if the art problems are his alone, or just the result of a messy fill-in situation.

Whatever the root cause of the art problems, I hope we see either Vitti or Casseli return soon. This series deserves to finish strong as we approach the end of Hickman’s planned run of “around 20 or 30 issues.”