Writer – Micheal Fleisher
Artist – Jan Duursema
Inker – Tom Mandrake
Colours – Jerry Serpe
Letters – John Costanza

In the aftermath of the volcano’s rupture, Scavenger returns and this time he is claiming souls for his mistress during which he has a run-in with Morgan. Meanwhile, Jennifer tells Tara of her discovery that something dark is happening within a cavern deep inside the volcano. Hearing of this, Tara decides to head out and deal with the situation, brushing off the idea that she needs Travis Morgan’s help in any way. What Tara does not know is that she will soon find herself in a situation that will be too much for her. The thrills continue and the book turns out to be a real page-turner courtesy of Michael Fleisher, Jan Duursema and Tom Mandrake. Machinations of evil continue to permeate the story as Scavenger and the ancient goddess he serves continue to stir up trouble. This newly transformed Scavenger is a being that is to be feared and when he sets his sights on Tara, it makes you a little uneasy as you know that she is outclassed in every respect. There is a huge cliff-hanger at the end of the book which is quite shocking and though it seems like the worst has happened, you know that it cannot stick unless Fleisher truly meant to make a lasting change which seems doubtful. Aside from Morgan and Tara’s travails, we finally get to see a little of what Mariah has been doing of late and it sees her having made her way back to the surface world. Once there she runs into some Russian soldiers and as she agrees to go with them, you have to wonder if Mariah will ever go back to Skartaris or if her friends will go looking for her. It was good to see her again as she has been absent for a little while now and Fleisher has been doing such a great job on the book, you have to know that he has something in mind, though just what it is will be revealed in later issues. Magic, madness and death are present in spades and you would not have it any other way.

4 out of 5