Writer Rob Williams continues to tell his story in time-traveling fragments, first in 2013, then in 1943, then back to 2013. As he has done in previous issues, he provides the reader with enough information through dialogue and narration that one can generally follow the story. It helps that there isn't as much "switching" in this issue -- there are really just three long scenes: the opening chase sequence, the drunk Marla scene, and then the espionage sequence where they target Pinkston. Each one lasts for enough pages that the reader gets a good sense of what is going on, which helps the story flow.
On the other hand, Williams is developing an annoying habit of not showing us everything that happens, and leaving huge gaps for the reader to fill in. I'm not talking about the telegram that triggered Marla's drunken binge. We aren't told what it says this issue, but one can pretty easily surmise that this is notification that someone important died, and since her father has been dead for a while at this point, and we've only ever seen her acting the lover toward Chandler, it is not difficult to figure out the contents of the message. Evenf if one doesn't make that connection, the telegram's negative impact on her is quite clear.
Rather, the gaps to which I refer are the scene breaks. For example, the opening chase scene shows at least two robots chasing her. We see Miss Fury clock one with the bike. What happened to the other one? Did she defeat it? Get away from it? We are not shown the conclusion of the scene. When we next see Miss Fury in 2013, as Marla, she's in a computer lab with Harmon, and the chase is over. We are never told what happened to the other robot. The characters should at least say what happened to the other robot, if Williams isn't going to show it.
That said, the story is very well done. The opening action sequence plays out like a Matrix movie, and Miss Fury's incredibly acrobatics are fully on display as she bends backwards under a truck to avoid being hit, and then handsprings onto a moving motorcycle and starts firing a gun from the back of it. The drunk Marla scene is a great piece of character development, as we learn bit by bit what makes Marla so wild (the death of Chandler). And the ending sequence plays out like a Bourne film, starting out with the long range sniper shot and ending up with Miss Fury in up-close hand-to-hand combat. All three scenes are well done.
The artwork continues to impress me on this series. Herbert does a good job with both the quiet scenes and the action. His drawings of Miss Fury's acrobatic leaps and "stunts" make it feel like one is watching an action movie. I particularly like her facial expressions during the fight sequences. She grimaces, winces, and shows real effort as she does all these wild stunts, making the action feel all the more "real" to the reader. And as usual, his Marla continues to look beautiful and glamorous, like a movie star from the 1940s. (I still say she's modeled after Rita Hayworth.)
Overall, this is another solid installment from the creative team. The story is really shaping up, and we are starting to understand some of what is really going on. The longer "stays" in each time period definitely helped the narrative. And Miss Fury is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. She has a good heart, but there are enough flaws to make her interesting and human. I'm not sure yet that this series will go on my pull list permanently, but I will be sticking around for at least the next couple of issues.
My score: 8/10
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