The Adventures of Apocalypse Al #3 Review

Do you really need to get this issue? Read on to find out.

The official description from  Image:

The life of private investigator Allison Carter is complicated enough just preventing the end of the world on a regular basis. But in the midst of her latest case she gets an unexpected call from her mostly-dead ex-boyfriend, who has a tip that may prove helpful or push the world further toward its destruction. Along the way, she encounters a closet troll with a stun-gun fetish, a theme park filled with demonic creatures in happy costumes, and unravels a secret that will change her life forever.

What we have here is a rock solid protagonist that’s interesting to follow even as we enter territory that’s all too familiar. And the credit for that goes to the creative team, because even if this doesn’t re-write the supernatural detective genre it entertains.

The weakest part has to be the jokes offered up by the illustrious scribe, J. Michael Straczynski. He continues to make Apocalypse Al a more than worthwhile heroine, but the redundancy of the humor feels a bit too forced.  There are some laugh out loud moments, but they don’t happen enough to  keep the spirit of these festivities in good standing. That said I have to give kudos to the introduction and twist found within the confines of this issue, it was smart and slightly expected but it still felt like genuine plot progression.

Sid Kotain handles the illustrations and once again the talent yields a body of work that looks soft to the touch. He uses thick and thin pencil strokes to properly evoke the actions of each player without losing the pace of the piece. My one complaint comes from the few moments where faces seem a bit inconsistent. But once you add in the colors done by Bill Farmer it’s clear that Allison Carter is in capable hands.

The Adventures of Apocalypse Al #3 is an outing that does enough right to keep its audience. It stumbles but fans can still look forward to the finale with minimal disappointment. Recommended.