With so much still shrouded in mystery, Seeley continues to gradually pull the curtain back and reveal the pieces at play in this thriller. With Mr. Outsider parasite chum and the team of Sundowners momentarily disbanded and questioning their sanity, does Karl Volf stand a chance in the clutches of The Illuminatrix? Is it good?
Sundowners #3 (Dark Horse Comics)
With so much going on in this series, let’s start by outlining the story’s vignettes from last issue:
- Tila Alcala, aka Crowlita, has had a run-in with Meghan, the girl she was with at the party where she initially saw the faces, and is now trailing her through Chicago.
- Joe Judd, aka The Concerned Citizen, has recently met with his friend, radio host Graham Cherry, and informed him of the eminent threat at hand, and what Graham found more interesting is the fact that Dr. David Shrejic is heading a support group.
- Andrea Bisch, aka Arcanika, distressed over being rejected in attempt to commit a carnal “sin,” heads home, but in the immediate wake of her absence, a young man in black appears set to ominous foreshadowing by Seeley.
So where do we go from here? Issue three advances each of these plot lines equally and does so in a very emotionally-appealing way. The first issue portrayed the characters as superheroes, complemented by the individual’s introductory biographies. The second issue emphasizes the squad’s mental instability as they themselves begin to question their sanity. In issue three, Seeley does a great job of making these characters human. Our heroes are dealing with events such as anxiety attacks and past relationships and it helps create yet another lens to see these individuals through.
Each character experiences at least one personal struggle in the issue, all reacting in a variety of ways; either breaking down physically, emotionally, or simply giving in. We examine each Sundowner including Karl Volf who is still captured by the Illumintrax and we’re able to shed a little light on his situation as well as Dr. Shrejic’s jaded past. The issue amps up the action which is something I wasn’t quite expecting, but definitely enjoyed it and it makes for one of the most thrilling scenes in the series we’ve seen so far. The villain, the man in black, appears to be a very interesting character who speaks in religious jargon. Appearing to be an ex-lover of Andrea Bisch, the man in black, named Brandon, is confronted by Joe Judd after tying up Arcanika and the two men proceed to have a knock-out, drag-out fight. Seeley has taken possible hysteria and made it very eerie.
Is It Good?
Seeley presents the best issue yet as he provides some answers and introduces new threats as storylines come crashing together. I don’t think the inclusion of the characters’ full names is by chance as you find yourself empathetic for the team as they struggle with realistic life events—well, mostly realistic. Matched with another great showing of Jim Terry’s art, this issue should be at the top of your list this week.
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