Writer – Jim Salicrup, Gerry Conway
Artist – Mark Bagley
Inker – Romeo Tanghal
Colours – Julianna Ferriter
Letters – Janice Chiang

In the last issue, Leoric, Dakthorn and their men have now come out the other side of it with one last warning from Merklynn and it is on the nature of their powers – that they can either save New Valarak, their world or destroy it all. Leoric tries to rally the men to his side, telling them that this new world requires people to work hand-in-hand to not only survive it but to build it back to a semblance of what it used to be. Darkthorn is having none of that and tries to rally everyone to his side and the result is as expected with fifty percent of the men joining him and the other fifty joining Leoric though not before a little bit of a battle between the two. Joining Jim Salicrup on the book is Gerry Conway who lends a hand with scripting duties and together the two tell a tale that finds Leoric leading and helping as is his nature while Darkthorn plots and schemes, looking to find a weapon that will turn the tide in his favour when the eventual war between the two sides breaks out. That weapon soon makes itself known in the form of a flying vehicle, the first one to take to the skies ever since the fall and it does not from science but from magic. This all leads to a premature confrontation between the two sides as Mortdred goes out on his own with the Skyclaw and attacks the heroes all so that he might find himself in Darkthorn’s good graces once again. This all leads to another battle between the two sides and while the good guys sort of won the day, they are all too evenly matched to really call anything a decisive victory. One of the more interesting aspects of the book is seeing the various knights come into their powers and then learn how to use them as there is a lot of subtlety to them, not to mention multiple uses. A few of them get a good grasp upon them while others are still waiting for theirs to manifest and one has to wonder just what will happen should the wrong side gain the upper hand. Mark Bagley continues to do a great job with the artwork and the story is solid as Salicrup and Conway explore and flesh out the personalities of the supporting characters to make for a very well-rounded tale. All in all, a fun time to be sure.

3.5 out of 5