Writer – Jeph Loeb
Artist – Ian Churchill
Inker – Norm Rapmund
Colours – Awesome Color
Letters – Richard Starkings & Liz Agraphiotis

A number of things take place in this issue, the first being an attack by The Pentad upon members of The Coven and their goal is a sword, one in which its wielder does not live through. This destroys Fantom on the inside just a little as she was close to the deceased woman and even worse is the feeling of helplessness as they cast her aside as if she were nothing, unable to do nothing and it is the latter which might be the worse of the two. Creators Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill then take readers to the police precinct where Christina Baker is being held and it is there that she runs afoul of The Pentad who seem to have people everywhere and while their representative tries to get what they need out of her, she is ‘saved’ by the well-timed appearance from one of the Coven members. As for the rest of the Pentad, they are celebrating yet another win as they have collected an artifact they have been looking for, one of many that they need for whatever nefarious purpose they have in mind and it is none other than the crown of thorns and from the way they celebrate, it is all that it is purported to be. Like the first issue of the series, it looks great and that can be attributed to Churchill with a little help from Norm Rapmund and Awesome Color but also like that first book, the writing leaves just a little to be desired. The story does not flow as well as it should, perhaps if it had been structured a little better that might have made all the difference but there is also the fact that there are so many characters that it is hard to keep them all straight even with the introduction and recap page. One also has to factor in the motivations from everyone involved be they good or bad which is not made clear as nothing has been set other than the fact that the villains are collecting artifacts and the good guys are there to stop the bad guys. The book needs to at least show some backstory on what is happening between these two groups and why for readers to get invested and so far, it is all style and no substance.

2.5 out of 5