It seems that the powers that be have decided to give new readers a jump-on point this month, but does it waste the time of devoted followers?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

THE ANGELUS & TOM JUDGE REUNITED!

When Tom Judge failed in his efforts to assemble a team of Artifacts bearers and battle Jackie Estacado, Angelus host Finch was left eagerly preparing for her next confrontation with the Darkness bearer. Will her bullheaded obsession to destroy the Darkness distract her from the dangerous task at hand when Tom Judge returns to Finch for a favor?

I’ve been following this title since it was an event series, and I have to say that when it transitioned over to a monthly book I’ve been positively floored by the experiences thus far.  To the creative teams credit they’ve delivered on so much that my expectations for the overall quality have been raised to levels I never expected… which can be a bit of a detriment.

Ron Marz pens the script and the scribe makes this issue into what can be described as a friendly place for new readers.  He uses the Angelus and its host to guide in a new player while slowly spinning the endless cycle of conflict in an unbalanced universe. The words flow freely and the text is solid, but I was more than a bit underwhelmed as the narrative felt more like a stop-gap measure instead of an attempt at narrative progression.

The art by Jung-Geun Yoon is smooth and stylized, as it carries the sensibilities of a painter combined with a new age touch.  The quality etched out on each page created an insurmountable amount of detail, which was befitting this world of monsters.  His depictions of the Ancient Ones were of the epic scope one might expect but there were times where I felt that the human characters lacked the same precise touch.  Overall: this was a sturdy effort.

Artifacts #30 is a good comic book that keeps the positive motion of the title going even if it stumbles a bit.  Recommended.

3.5/5