Spider-Girl Volume 1 Issue 1

Choices
October 1998
Written by Tom DeFalco

May "Mayday" Parker is still trying to reason with her new found powers and whether or not she should continue to use them in a superhero capacity. She begins to "research" Spider-Man and ends up talking to her fathers assistant, Phil Urich. Phil informs her the legacy of Spider-Man as some speculate, about how a freak accident lead to his creation and how he was first in entertainment until a burglar he let go killed someone close to him. Before long, Peter shows up and, as he, May, and Captain Ruiz are leaving the precinct, Peter and May feel their spider-sense tingling. A suspicious man begins to follow Peter and Captain Muiz, but May ambushes the man into an alley. Scurrying up a wall, she avoids letting the man see her as she tails him as he goes into a clothing store. She decides to leave the man be since he didn't commit any crime that she saw. Back at school, her friend Davida Kirby tries to get her to loosen up by going to the mall after basketball practice, but May is down because she starts to feel using her powers on the court is too much of an advantage to exploit.

At home over dinner, Peter talks about how he is working on a case with mobsters dealing with the fashion industry. May begins to think there may be a connection with the man since he went into a clothing store. Donning a make-shift black costume and using some web shooters she kept hidden, she takes to the city. Infiltrating the clothing store, she finds her man, Shaky, being grilled by his employer, the masked Mr. Nobody. She takes them on until Captain Ruiz and the police show up. May makes it out the window and Mr. Nobody is able to teleport out as well. Mr. Nobody then shows up in the prison cell of none other than the Kingpin to tell him about what happened. Back at the Parkers, May waits in her room, pretending to be asleep, for Peter to come and talk to her. He doesn't and over the next few days, she begins work on her very own costume as the issue comes to an end.

I like this one a bit more than the What If for some reason. I think maybe because the issue was able to work with the fact that it is a series now and doesn't have to contain itself to one issue. I like to see the inner struggle that May is going through, but sometimes the narration bugs me with using the term "You"; why can't she just say "I". I don't want to be her, I want her to be her. I think the Kingpin is certainly an interesting choice to have as her first baddie in the series, and can see Mr. Nobody being more interesting, especially if he is somebody from the Marvel past. Again, I like the art style a lot and actually enjoyed her first self-created costume; sort of a sexy black-and-white Spidey suit. Again, the conversations with Davida (changed from Roberta, I guess) feel weird with the "girlfriend" slang, since this is apparently fifteen years after the 1990's, when that speech was popular. Now, in 2007, you don't hear that kind of talk. Overall, an enjoyable first issue

Score: 4 / 5

Angel - S1E16

The Ring
First Aired: Tuesday February 29, 2000

Angel investigates the kidnapping of a brother, but finds himself fighting other demons to the death for sport.

This epsiode begins with Angel and the gang investigating a man's brother, who had disappeared due to some gambling debts. Angel follows a trail that leads him to an underground death match between demons. The twist is that the brothers are the ones who run it and they set Angel up so that we would be part of the captives. Trying to be the noble warrior, Angel vows he won't fight and tries to befriend the other demons. They want nothing to do with him. Elsewhere, Wesley and Cordelia investigate Angels disappearance and also find out about the underground death matches. As the infiltrate the match, they see Angel fighting and ultimately killing another demon. They retreat with one of the arm bands to try and figure out what to do while Angel tries to stir up the demons again. He succeeds in capturing one of the brothers on his side of the forcefield, but the other brother shoots and kills him to Angel's surprise. When Angel awakens from the tazer blasts, he is now in the office of Lyla Morgan (first appearance), who is an associate of Wolfram & Hart. They had apparently bought his contract, but Angel wants nothing to do with them and returns to the arena. Wesley, with Cordelia's help, is able to figure out a way to open the cuffs and return to the arena as Angel has to face off against the most powerful demon. The demon also happens to be one kill away from freedom. Wesley's key is taken by one of the pompious demons, but instead of just leaving , he helps release the others. In the arena, Angel and the demon fight each other both to the point where they could kill the other but decide against it. Before the men could excute them, though, the freed demons storm the arena. Cordelia pushes the brother into the arena and the powerful demon kills him. As a badly injured Angel is lead out of the place by Wesley and Cordelia, they appear happy until they realize they had just released all of the demons in Los Angeles.

This is an episode I rememeber and it is a fun one. The self-rightous Angel is left to deal with demons he would normally kill, but needs in order to lead the revolt. It was interesting to see the first appearance of Lyla, who would become a central character through season four. Again, Cordelia and Wesley playing off of each other is spot on, even more so than Cordelia and Doyle was. Though sad, it is good to see this pair together instead of with Doyle. I also enjoed all of the demon types that demoniated this episode, something Angel had always focused on.

Score: 8.5 / 10

Freaks and Geeks - E01

Pilot
First Aired: Saturday September 25, 1999

Focusing on a high school in Michigan, we see the lives of two siblings play out; Lindsay, who has just recently shed her "brainy" station in life to hang out with the freaks of the school, and her brother Sam, who is lumped with the geeks of the freshman class.

The series opens in a high school in Michigan where Lindsay Weir looks to try to integrate with the freaks of the school. However, she ends up helping her brother and his geek friends from being harassed by a freshman bully. We learn that their parents wish them to go to the Homecoming dance in order to better socialize, since Lindsay has been slipping into darkness and Sam is becoming too much of a geek. Lindsay eventually starts to interact with the freaks, but she is shown hostility by Kim, the other female of the group. Though there is this female rift, the guys still try to be nice to Lindsay. Elsewhere, Sam's bully continues to harass him and his friends try to convince him that Cindy, a pretty freshman cheerleader, is in love with him. Lindsay, trying to be a good person, asks the "special" person in school to the dance when she sees him being harassed. Later, when she sees him being harassed further, she tries to help again but enrages him when she says he is retarded. The boy runs away, but ends up falling and breaking his arm. Afterwards, the guidance counselor tries to get Lindsay to rejoin the Math-eletes, but she doesn't want to. When she later skips school with one of the freaks, he sees them and tries to blackmail her into joining the Math-aletes. She still refuses and he rats her out, making her serve refreshments at the school dance. That night, she reveals to her brother that she had been their when their grandmother died. She is jaded now because she was convinced her grandmother didn't see anything related to Heaven, like God or a bright light. The next day, Sam and his friends, who are also now targets of the bully, decide to have a showdown. Sam is caught up talking to Cindy, though, so his friends are left on their own. While they aren't able to beat him up, they do scare off the bully. Sam asks Cindy to the dance, but she is already going with someone but will save a dance for him. Sam is happy besides this because his friends stood up for him. In the end, Lindsay is serving the refreshments but does dance with Eli anyway. Cindy and Sam also dance.

I had heard about this show a number of times over the years, but never ended up seeing it. I wasn't convinced too much within the first 10-15 minutes, but after that, I started to really enjoy the show. The thing I like about the humor was it as sometimes subtle and those moments were I ususally chuckled the most. In particular, I liked the idiocy of Seth Rogan and Martin Starr. I really started to like Linda Cardellini's character about halfway through and I kind of understand what she is doing with her high school life. The directing and filming were good and on par with this sort of dramatic show. I can see why this may not have succeeded, as it looks like it would be more targeted towards the teen through thirty year olds, but some of those people might not get some of the stuff. Overall, after the shaky beginning, this turned into something that I wanted to watch the next episode of right away.

Score: 8.6 / 10

What If ... ? - Vol 2 #105

Legacy ... In Black and White
February 1998

... What if Mary Jane had never lost the baby, and Spider-Man had a Spider-girl?

In normal Marvel continuity (Earth-616), Mary Jane had apparently miscarried May, though the baby was secretly smuggled by Alison Mongrain to Norman Osborn (see Clone Saga#Act 3 in the Books for more information). This issue of "What If ... ?" asks what may have happen had she not been taken.

Now at the age of fifteen, May "Mayday" Parker is the captain of her highschool girls basketball team at Midtown High School in Queens, New York (where her father had gone as well). Exhibiting some wowing abilities on the court, Mary Jane and Peter begin to worry she may have inherited some of Peter's Spider-Man abilities. As the congratulate her, a shadowy figure (the Green Goblin) looks on from the windows. May then blows off the jocks to hang out with her "nerdy" friends. Mary Jane and Peter walk home and Peter recounts how he no longer is Spider-Man because he had a large confrontation with Norman two years after May was born where Norman died and Peter lost the will to continue as Spider-Man. Without having to be Spider-Man, they never revealed to May who he had been. Elsewhere, May, Jimmy, and Courtney are attacked by the Green Goblin. He wants May to pass on the message to Peter that he will be waiting at the bridge the next night.

Peter decides to try to contact Normie Osborn, Norman's grandson. He gets through to Normie's stepfather who tells Peter he hasn't seen Normie since his mother grew ill. He relates this information to Mary Jane and May, in the process, overhears them talking about him being Spider-Man. The next day while Peter tries to get the help of first the Fantastic Five and then the Avengers, May starts to experiment with her new powers. She later confronts Mary Jane about the conversation from the previous night and MJ explains everything to her. That evening, Peter shows up at the bridge to face Normie, who is miffed Peter wasn't wearing his Spider-Man suit. Mary Jane shows up to try and reason with Normie, but May shows up as well, wearing Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spiders old suit. Fighting ensues and May is able to stop Normie with one of his own pumpkin bombs. Though he is about to then be hit, and possibly killed, by an oncoming truck, May saves him anyway. As the cops take him away, he raves on and on about Spider-Girl, but no one believes him. The Parkers then later burn Peter's old costumes and assorted gear, but an open-ended conclusion shows May's designs for her own suit an a titulating "The End?"

I found this to be a very enjoyable read, if somewhat sketchy at parts. There was a tacked on conversation between May and her friend Roberta that was a little cringe worthy ("Like forever, girlfriend!" ... ech). I like the look of Spider-Girl, but I felt that May looked a little like Jubliation Lee (who also made an appearance in this issue), but I do like how Peter looks now. I also like how they explained him giving up the mantle of Spider-Man as well as how he know works at a crime lab. I like the harder-edged art style as well.

Score: 4 / 5

Angel - S1E15

The Prodigal
First Aired: Tuesday February 22, 2000

After battling a passive demon, Angel follows a trail that leads back to Kate's father. As his corrupt nature is brought to light, Kate's understanding of Angels world reaches a breaking point.

The episode begins with Angel fighting a demon in a subway tunnel. As Kate Lockley shows up, she finds out that the demon was accosting a delivery boy when Angel plucked it out of the train. Angel kills the demon as Kate shows up. Back on the platform, Kate's father shows up unexpectedly. Angel investigates the type of demon and Wesley lets him know the demon was part of a passive group, so it had become highly enraged for some strange reason. Angel goes with the hunch that someone or something on the train sparked this and decides it may have to do with the delivery guy. He seeks Kate's help, but she refuses. Through his own methods, he tracks the guy down and follows him to Kate's fathers apartment where he hands off a small brown package. Angel tries to confront him about what he may be doing that how it might affect Kate, but her father doesn't want to talk. The next day, he goes to visit Kate and grills her on who Angel is and what he does. Angel eventually figures out that the delivery guys is working with a demon drug trafficker that is transporting a serum that increases toughness and aggression. These drug dealers figure Angel is on to them, so they order him and Kate's father to be killed. Angel thwarts the demons that were sent for him and then tries to save Kate's father, who is killed by vampires before Angel can do anything. One of them escapes just as Kate shows up, but she tells Angel to leave as she grieves over her father. On separate paths, both of them show up at the drug dealers hideout and take on the remaining thugs, with Angel decapitating the leader. The episode ends with Kate paying respects at her father grave while Angel looks on for a distance.

I vaguely remember this episode and it was enjoyable. I know for a fact that Kate eventually leaves, but I couldn't remember how/why and I thought that this was the episode where it happened. I have always personally liked the Angel flashbacks and I think this was the first one that really delved a lot into his "birth". These were the high points of the episode for me. Personally, I think Angel should give Kate a harder time, that she either needs to come to terms with the things in the dark or she should leave and forget all about it. The comic relief in this episode comes Wesley and Cordelia trying to get a security system to work. It does eventually, though after the demons already have infiltrated the offices and the warnings are futile.

Score: 8.4 / 10

Miracles - E13

Paul is Dead
First Aired: Friday December 26, 2003 (Canada)

The group is commissioned to check the validity of a television psychic. When he touches Paul, he has a prophetic vision. When this eventually comes true, Paul loses Mattie, Evelyn's child, and tries to enlist the help of Tommy to find him.

The episode begins with a devout religious man seeking the help of the organization. His wife has come to believe a television psychic who has told her about their dead child. When Paul, Evelyn, and Alva got to investigate, the man touches Paul and gives a prophetic vision. A day or two later, while watching after Mattie in a park, the vision comes true. Distracted by the occurences, Paul does not notice anything wrong until he turns to see Mattie is not there anymore. A police search ensues. Alva tries to get the help of the "psychic", but he reveals that there is nothing psychic about him, that he can only tell people what they want to hear. However, he did feel something when he touched Paul. Eventually, he relents and touches Paul, saying he sees a vision of Paul dead. Paul takes this and interprets it that he must kill himself in order to converse with Tommy, who he has been seeing recently and who was at the park. Alva at first advises against it, but does agrees and gets the help of an old medical acquittance. Lowering Paul's body temperature, he dies for four minutes and talks with Tommy, who reveals that Paul is the one keeping him from moving on. When Alva and the man revive Paul, he tells how Tommy mentioned something about a woman not wanting to let go. Paul and Alva go to Evelyn and the police to tell them to focus on women who had recently lost their own children. They may be looking to replace their loss. Following on this lead, the police do find the child. The episode ends with the psychic outing himself. Outside, in a dumpster, Paul's blood did indeed write something, but not what it was to start with. Instead of "God is now here", it now reads "God is nowhere".

So ends the run of this little series. It was a good episode to end on, I guess, but I would have liked a little more resolution. For some reason, I thought that the final scene of the show was with Paul talking to Poppi and the prophecy from previous episode would come true to reveal he was Paul's father. It is also curious that Paul's hemography message seems to have changed to what Tommy said was the wrong interpretation. This was a good acting episode as well and it was good to finally see Evelyn get some more of the dramatic work. Like I mentioned, I would have liked a little more resolution with the Darkness, but they probably didn't know this would be the final episode. I think I will have to go back at some point and listen to the commentary to see where this show might have gone if it continued.

Score: 9.0 / 10

Miracles - E12

The Letter
First Aired: Friday December 19, 2003 (Canada)

A friend of Paul's and a fellow orphan, Georgia has been getting a letter a year from Poppi from her deceased father. After the last one is given this year, the following day she receives another one in the mail. Paul investigates and finds out these letters are coming from a man on death row.

The episode begins with Paul having dinner with Poppi and other friends from the orphanage. The occasion is the birthday of Georgia, one of Paul's best childhood friends. At the end of the evening, Poppi hands her the last letter her father had written her. It turns out Poppi has been giving her one a year on her birthday. The day after receiving and reading this last one, she gets a new on one in the mail. Asking for Paul's helping, he and Evelyn track the letter back to a death row inmate. This impossible, however, because the man is illiterate and can't write. Investigating further, Paul finds out that he has been sending letter to the families of his victims. All believe that the person in the letter is the real person, though they did not know Dubeck was the one writing them. One of the correlating thing they mention is that the handwriting is the same. Georgia says that the handwriting of the letter and the previous ones don't match, leading her and Paul to find out Poppi forged the letters for years, ultimately breaking her trust. Dubeck's attorney brings the families together to remind them that a leniency hearing is coming up, which could lead to Dubeck staying alive and going into general population of the prison. Some of the families relent and Dubeck gets the leniency. The celebration is very short since he is killed by another inmate not long after. Putting things together, Paul figures out that it was one of the victims husbands, since he gave the inmate's wife a new car from where he works. In the end, Georgia reconciles with Poppi and they are shown having a cordial meal with Paul.

I think this was one of the better episode of the recent ones. I think it was an interesting concept and made one think that all of it was meant to happen so that Dubeck died sooner rather than later (due to appeals and such). It was interesting to see the back story on Paul being in the orphanage and the roles the people around him played. Skeet's performance was also better than it had been in previous episodes. My only complaint was that Alva was missing from the episode except for a few brief words, but it was good to see Poppi be featured, since I enjoy Alicia Coppola's acting.

Score: 8.4 / 10

Monte Cook's Ptolus - City by the Spire 6 of 6

Issue 6
Written by Monte Cook

This issue picks up right where five left off with the Iron Mage and Sheva Callister trying to figure out what to do now. Apparently, the Hound was killed in the battle and the Iron Mage shows his gratitude to Sheva for helping him with Kervis. It is around this time that Sheva notices her hungersword is missing, taken by Gattara Vladaam back to her father as a birthday present. The Iron Mage offers Sheva his assistance in retrieving the blade. Before long, the infiltrate the Vladaam mansion and face off against the siblings Gattara, Aliaster and Godfred. While Sheva duels with Godfred, the Iron Mage makes little work of Aliaster and Gattara. Ultimately, the Iron Mage holds them at bay and threatens that if they ever go against Sheva again, he will personally see them at an end.

The Iron Mage then transports himself and Sheva to his home, which is halfway across the world. He takes the Book of Whispering Souls from Sheva to study while Sheva wanders his compound. Eventually, he summons her and she is finally reunited with Parnell, he ghost friend. It turns out that Aliaster had used a spell that had trapped Parnell's soul, so he remembers nothing since trying to escape the Vladaam compound in issue one. With his debt seemingly paid, the Iron Mage transports Sheva and Parnell back to Ptolus. In the Dark Sanctuary, Lilith is fuming over the failed attempt by the Hound. One of her major demons (or is she his worker?) finds the resolution favorable, since now they know the Iron Mage can be subdued. If it had not been for Sheva, he would be gone. They make plans to make sure she isn't around when they try to "take the city" so Sheva and the Iron Mage can team up again.

At the Ptolus tavern, Sheva reunites with a healthy Brusselt and Daersidian, who then proceed to liven up their adventures for Parnell. They leave the tavern later and are stopped by Lord Dorant Khatru, the main reason they were in Ptolus. He wanted to know if, after two weeks, Sheva had gotten the Brooch of Khatru from House Vladaam. She in fact had and hands it over to him in return for a scroll. Sheva tells Parnell that Kervis Killraven had the Brooch and that their reward was a map to a temple that apparently held the secrets of bringing a ghost back to life. The series ends with Sheva asking Parnell "Ready for another adventure?"

Well, apparently Caanan White wasn't around for this issue either, but it didn't show as much as with issue four's changes. I am still a bit unsure about how I feel about the final issue. I think I was expecting more of big climactic ending. I was thinking perhaps Lilith and her demons would play a part, but I guess they were just a lead into what would possibly come in any further series, though I don't think there will be any (at least not with Marvel). I also had pegged Parnell as being in on this, but that was not the case. I was also hoping for an appearance by the Vladaam patriarch, but that didn't happen either. The highest point of the issue was again the great artwork, though it did venture a bit into the cartoon-ish look. Overall, I think I would give the series a 6 / 10. For this issue, though, I would give:

Score: 3 / 5

Miracles - E11

The Ghost
First Aired: Friday December 12, 2003 (Canada)

There are strange things going on at a small insurance agency in New Jersey, so Paul and Alva go to investigate. What they find leads back to the death of a young man who is the son of the owner.

The episode begins with showing a man in an office where strange things start to happen, the culmination of which is the carving of the words "I'm Back" on his desk. Back in Boston, Paul goes to see Poppi after getting an MRI to make sure there are no problems with his head. Even though Poppi says Paul can come back to the congregation, Paul refuses and asks from Poppi's blessing to stay at his new job with Alva. Poppi can't give this. Evelyn, out with Mattie for the day, asks Alva to bring her and Paul's check to the park. After Alva confronts Paul about the MRI, he tells him they have a case in New Jersey. Upon arriving, they find out that the workers at the insurance agency have been noticing strange things. The boss of the agency hasn't noticed anything, or so he says. Still suspicious, Alva sends Paul to question the young woman. Paul finds out that she had dated the owners son who had died the previous year from Menengitis. Paul tries to question the man's wife, but she is offended by Paul's questions. Later that night, though, she calls Paul to discuss her son and how her husband never showed his grief. Paul goes to visit the man at the office and sees the furniture on the ceiling. The man tells Paul he believes his son has come back to see him. Paul is still unconvinced and after reviewing the security tapes, which the young woman provides, he hypothesis with Alva that he is doing everything himself. Arriving downtown at the office, it looks like the "ghost" is destorying the place. However, when Paul and Alva get into the manager's office, nothing is happening besides the man listening to music. They take the man to their motel room, show him the tapes, and tell him their belief. He becomes enraged and he starts acting out mentally. He comes to the realization that it was him, he contends with his grief, and goes back to his wife. Back in Boston, Poppi does finally give Paul his blessing.

I think this was a decent enough episode; nothing particularly compelling or that pushes the overall story further expect the little bit about the MRI and about Poppi near the beginning and the end. Paul and Alva just seemed to be going through the motions of the investigation with neither being really affected. I think what kept this episode afloat was the acting, since the story we a bit predicable. Overall, a bit of a let down.

Score: 7.1 / 10

Buffy - S4E15

This Year's Girl
First Aired: Tuesday February 22, 2000
Buffy and the gang try to figure out how to get Riley back. Their plan changes, however, when he shows up. Turns out that the Initative let him go. Elsewhere, Faith awakens from her almost year long coma to find the Mayor Wilkins didn't succeed.

Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles are trying to figure out what their next move should be while Xander tries to get an Initative blaster working again. Buffy decides they need to get Riley back. While patrolling that night, the Scoobies encounter a demon they suspect was killed by Adam because it appears disected. Buffy starts to form a plan with Willow and Xander when Riley shows up. It turns out that he was able to leave the Initative compound of his own volition. Elsewhere, Faith has been dreaming vividly during her coma recently and when she is pushed to the brink in one, she wakes up. Encountering a young woman, she figures out that the mayor was unsuccessful. She knocks the girl out and takes her clothes. The medical personnel are flabbergasted and contact the authorities. At Giles' apartment, the gang, now with Riley, start to discuss what they need to do to bring Adam down. The phone rings and it is the hospital or police calling to tell Buffy about Faith. The gang goes into overdrive trying to figure out what to do about her. The next day, as Buffy and Willow are walking on the campus, Faith shows up and they fight briefly before Faith gets away. Faith later receives a VHS from the mayor telling her about things if he had in fact died. He also left her a little present in order to "go out with a bang". She infiltrates the Summers home and takes Joyce hostage, hoping Buffy will show. When she does, the two fight their way downstairs. In the closing moments, Faith uses her device and the two girls souls are transfered to the other body. Faith-in-Buffys-body then knocks out Buffy-in-Faiths-body as the police show up to take Faith away.

This was a very enjoyable episode because it had the interesting storyline of what happens when Faith returns from the coma. While only the first of two parts, I remember how well Eliza Dusku plays Buffy in the next episode, but this was a good primer in terms of acting on her part in the lose she now feels. There were some very funny moments in this episode, especially in the beginning with Xander trying to fix the blaster and later when he and Giles try go get Spikes help. Also, Riley is back, so yeah to that. Overall, an above average episode getting ready for a great acting episode by both women in the conclusion.

Score: 8.4 / 10

Monte Cook's Ptolus - City by the Spire 5 of 6

Issue 5
February 2007
Written by Monte Cook

The Iron Mage is a legendary figure in the realm of Ptolus, an enigmatic character who works for his own interests and sides with whomever he likes. This concerns Sheva Callister, who has temporarily allied herself with him as she continues her unwinding quest to recover a brooch and to extract revenge on the mysterious figure who set her up and killed her ghostly partner. But is the Iron Mage truly on her side. or does he have some hidden agenda?

The issue beings with the Iron Mage still asking for the book from Sheva (man, does he look different) while the Hound runs amok in the compound below. The Iron Mage states that he believes the Hound is there for the book. He explains to Sheva that the Book of Whispering Souls, which she hopes can help her ghost friend Parnell, is actually also a Hound that has been trapped into book form. They watch as Kervis Killraven charges at the creature on horseback. The Iron Mage joins her after warning Sheva he will be back for the book. Not wishing to give it over, Sheva begins to sneak away and instead finds Gattara Vladaam doing the same. Sheva confronts her and states she knows the Vladaam's wish for her hungersword. Because she does not want his help, Killraven leaves the Hound to the Iron Mage and returns inside where she encounters a dazed Sheva who had been fighting Gattara. With ease, Killraven is able to subdue Sheva and take the Book. She then contemplates killing the Iron Mage while he is distracted fighting the Hound.

Acting on this impulse, Killraven knocks the Iron Mage down and gloats a bit before going for the killing blow. Sheva, however, steps in and strikes at Killraven long enough for Iron Mage to recover some senses. He uses a spell and Killraven and her stallion disappear. While the two contemplate what to do, the Hound seems to slink off, as does Gattara. She doesn't leave empty-handed, though, since she was able to swipe Sheva's hungersword when Killraven had Sheva winded. The issue ends with Gattara gloating over the sword.

Curious. Apparenly, Caanan White returned for the issue and one can easily tell from the first page that a different artist was working on this title. The Iron Mage looked NOTHING like he did in the previous issue (say, perhaps an hour before hand) and neither did Killraven. Sheva and Gattara stayed the same. Now, I could care less about Killraven, but when the Iron Mage was introduced, I really liked his look and demeanor. It seemed like both of those were thrown out for the fifth issue. The change was jarring to say the least. As for the rest of the issue, a couple of other small things. The Hound, who seemed unabashedly evil and headstrong (which I figured) became a puppy when Killraven apparently knocked out Iron Mage. It also made no moves to take back the book while Iron Mage and Sheva contemplated what to do with it at the end. Another quick drastic change I found not good. Finally, Gattara made off with the hungersword way too easily. I think the most interesting part of the issue was when Iron Mage revealed that the Book of Whispering Souls was actually another Hound bound to the book. Otherwise, art withstanding, I found the issue below average. A steady decline in the book is frightening and I can only hope the finally issue will go out with a bang and not a whimper.

Score: 2 / 5

Monte Cook's Ptolus - City by the Spire 4 of 6

Issue 4
January 2007
Written by Monte Cook

Sheva Callister, a retired treasure hunter who’s come back for one last job, is painfully aware of this as she stumbles into the underground tomb of Narros, the Lich King, a powerful undead creature who does not appreciate her intrusion. But if she and her companions can escape, they’ll only be plunged into more excitement and deception as various nobles from the city above use her in a pawn in a strange game of their own. That is, of course, unless the legendary “Iron Mage” appears and lends her a hand…

This issue begins in the Necropolis where the enigmatic Lilith (introduced in issue 1) is shown conversing with one of her demons about the Hound who entered into Ptolus (during issue 2). She begins to wonder if Killraven is the Hounds prey. Back in the Crypt of Narros beneath Ptolus, Sheva, Brusselt and Daersidian are meeting Narros face-to-face. Despite Brusselts honest plea that they are just passing through, Narros turns his necomatic ways on them and summons four skeleton snakes. Narros tries to use spells against Daersidian, the elf battlemage, but he is able to counter his spells, much to Narros' suprise. Before he could try any further actions, Sheva cleaves one of the skeleton snakes onto him. Brusselt is hurt bad in the impact and Daersidian uses a spell to take them both to the surface while Sheva continues on.

Not soon after, Sheva meets the Iron Mage, the most powerful mage in the world. The Iron Mage is in the sewers tracking the Hound and knows nothing of the apparent meeting between Gattara Vladaam and Kevris Killraven. The Iron Mage suggest that the book Kevris may have could be the Book of Whispering Souls. He leaves before the conversation can go further and Sheva continues on to her destination. Making her way through the cellar, she infiltrates Killraven's meeting place and overhears her and Gattara talking about obtaining Sheva's hungersword. Sheva goes through the place and ultimately finds the Book. However, as she tries to leave, The Iron Mage shows up and demands she hand the book over in the final scene.

I was kind of interested to see that Canaan White's name wasn't in this issue, unlike previous ones. The artwork was instead handled by Luis Lara, but it was almost unnoticeable in the difference. In fact, it was way better than the second half of the previous issue that I didn't enjoy. I liked the action scene with Narros and thought the skeleton snakes were really cool looking. Also, the Iron Mage seems like a very cool character and I look forward to seeing what he has to deal with the Hound. I don't think he is threatening Sheva at the end, but securing the books since it holds incredible necromatic spells. I am still looking forward to the final two issues of this series.

Score: 4 / 5