Once again we find everyone’s favorite ex-priest on the heels of discovering yet another artifact and its wayward wielder, but is the formula of this book starting to get old?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

“TRUTHS & DESTINIES,” Part Two
FBI profiler and Rapture bearer Tom Judge used to be a man of the cloth. His faith led him away from the Church. The Magdalena, however, still serves the Church. Can both Tom and the Magdalena overcome their differences of faith to battle an evil that is as old as the universe itself?

As this shattered universe limps forward, we find our heroes willing to step up as unknown villains move pieces on this proverbial chess board.  To the creative team’s credit right from the first page on they instill a strong sense of self that yields a striking pace that’s sure to keep their devoted followers glued to their seat.

The script by Ron Marz is just as good as the previous few, as the scribe wastes no time setting the stage with a natural but kinetic flow.  The bits of dialogue and text combine to birth an absolutely thrilling chase that plays up the strongest aspects of the narrative.  There were however a couple sequences that felt a bit flat as unnecessary explanations beat-up what felt like a rushed cliffhanger.  Nonetheless all the bits of this particular package came together in the end to deliver another excellent outing.

Marco Turini continues to handle the art for this title with some outstanding panels to add to his already sterling run.  His unique design sense works quite well with the literary components that, up to this point, have served this series well since the culmination of the event that started all of this.  But I found myself underwhelmed by several key visualizations as deformities, that I realize are part of the accepted style, became somewhat of a detriment to the journey.

Artifacts #28 is a release that manages to tell an engaging jaunt that’s does enough right to make the whole of the experience worthwhile.  Recommended.

3.5/5