So the 3rd issue of Higher Earth written by Sam Humphries with art by Francesco Biagini and Manuel Bracchi is out and I thought I knew what to expect. As I started reading it seemed that it would be more of the same interstellar space and time warping story, where the most reliable weapon seems to still be a sword.
It didn’t take long before what I thought I knew started to change. For one you usually don’t see the big tough guy that has protected the heroine through the first two issues…..oh wait. I shouldn’t tell you that it will ruin the surprise. Lets just say that what happens to Rex, I didn’t think would happen. And I didn’t see it happening from the person that did it.
I’m glad to see that someone is using a multiple universe concept in a way that in my opinion is different. I’m sure someone will post up that well in issue blah blah of blah blah they did just that. Well in the none obscure comic universe I can not recall any one using it with such multiplicity. You’ll understand that last part when you read the book.
I have to say there is one thing I’m not very fond of in this or the first two. Mystery. Now the story as it unfolds may show there was a good reason for it. I hope there is but at the moment it just seems the same old routine. The writer doesn’t have people talk about what they should, simply to keep the reader guessing. You know what I mean. How man times have you watched a movie or read a book and said “Well if he would have told her from the beginning what he was doing she could have helped more.” I know I hate that. Mostly because its so obvious. The writer knows that the only reason why its happening. The read knows it too but ignores the fact to allow the story to flow.
The only thing worse than that is people in scary movies investigating scary noises in the old slaughter house next door to their new home. “Honey does that sounds like a chainsaw to you?”
So far the series is not bad But Mr. Humphries better start dropping some of that mystery by issue 4 or he will risk loosing readers. People need to be grabbed with your first issue sure. But they need to figure out who they are rooting for and why. If that doesn’t happen in issue 4 that means someone has invested 4 months of their time into something they don’t even know if they will like when they find out what the mystery is. Now I’m sure any of you aging folk that watched Twin Peaks will scream ah but the mystery is part of the fun. So to sum it up I’m willing to give the book another issue to totally win me over.
