I'm more than a little shocked to realize that this is actually my 450th read—and review—of the year. Thanks, COVID-19!

And, if this was going to be a milestone read, I'm glad this was the one. I know I go on and on about Donny Cates, and how he's the greatest thing to comics in years. Having said that, the first two volumes in this series, while building and improving, never quite delivered that Cates magic.

Until this one. It's not often I'll finish reading something, close the back cover and just sit there, considering what I've read. Even more infrequent is for me to utter a little, "wow" as I close that cover.

But this time, I did both. The thing I like about Cates? His stories have consequences. A lot of comics these days (yeah, I'm looking at you, Marvel) set up these grand events, put your longstanding characters through their paces, maybe kill off a C- or D-level character that no one really cares about and most have forgotten, but by the end of it, very little has changed.

But Cates? Yeah, he ain't scared of creating something new and different, then burning it to the ground, just to see what happens.

What happens in my case is, I close the back cover, say "wow" and then marvel at what I've just experienced. ( )