The penultimate outing of this arc has arrived, but is there enough within the confines of its pages?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Aspen:

The second part of Blood Origin!

The ‘Blood Origin’ three-part storyline continues as Executive Assistant Daffodil learns the painful truth that a life devoted to the training of women in the art of killing can lead to unintended – and fatal results. And, this lesson may prove to be her last, as the reality of this existence may prove too much to survive‹even for her!

There’s a lot to love here, as this origin rakes up some serious points by implementing just enough of the classic elements to ensure the pleasure of its devoted followers.  The creative team offers up a second act that not a perfect rendition of everything that this title has come to stand for but it does just enough to show where it’s going.

Vince Hernandez pens the script and he does a marvelous job taking our two sisters and pushing them toward a shared destiny that’s just around the corner.  I found myself instantly enamored, as the author kept wit and tenacity strictly on the surface level, while implementing a few nuggets along the way.  The main problem found here is that a couple of the more obvious scenarios came off a bit forced, leaving me more than a bit underwhelmed by their ultimate inclusion.  That said, the ride itself was enjoyable and I can’t wait to see this wrap up.

The art by Jordan Gunderson is strong enough to carry the weight of the narrative but there were some stumbles along the way.  Facial anomalies and a few panels that lacked enough sensory detail detracted from the jaunt, but for the most part they did little to sully the whole experience.  The inclusion of a couple pages from Lori Hanson livened up the festivities, as the talent melded with the already accepted look of the book.

Executive Assistant: Assassins #17 is a good comic that suffers from a few cosmetic blemishes, but still earn a recommendation from me.

3.5/5