Writer – Steve Ahlquist
Artist – Terry Loh
Letters – Mike Sagara

In the previous issue of this series, Dorothy had just turned one hundred years old, a milestone to be sure. The final page shows the companions all sitting around enjoying the day, when a couple of guys reveal they invented a time machine. Cut to the first page of this issue, and author Steve Ahlquist creates a bit of a jump in the storytelling as Scarecrow finds himself in the year 1516, fending off the king’s guard. Soon, he is on his way to meet up with his friend, at least in the future, the one and only Leonardo da Vinci. It is here that he describes how he was thrown back in time by the explosion of the Time Train. Questions abound for the reader of this tale, but the story fails to let up, which is a good thing, for these queries to be answered. Scarecrow and Leonardo get along like two peas in a pod, and Da Vinci takes things as fact when it comes to Scarecrow, for how can he deny them? The straw man knows about things he should not, and he has not come to Da Vinci haphazardly. He knows about the Philosopher’s Stone, which few do, so there is that. Most of the book is spent with Scarecrow and Da Vinci hanging about in residence, with the former trying to think of ways to get home while the latter spends his time doing the things he was famous for, like inventing and painting. Also on premises is Joan of Arc, now a vampire and unknown to but a few, a direct descendant of Christ. Joan is, in part, a vampire thanks to Da Vinci and his secret sect, tasked with protecting the bloodline. This part of the book is the most interesting due to the relationship between Joan and Scarecrow. Scarecrow is torn over his newfound friendship with the young vampire, only because in his time, he killed her. She might seem all nice and friendly right now, but over the years, she becomes a true monster, and it eventually leads to a confrontation between the two, where one of them does not walk away. For the moment, though, he has no thoughts of ending her life, and because of that, they can team up later in the story as they try to rescue Da Vinci from being assassinated. This all leads to a final revelation which sends Scarecrow on his merry way back home, back through time to rejoin Dorothy and his friends. Altogether, this was a fun story and a nice aside to what has been going on in the main plot line, but one does have to wonder when Ahlquist will start wrapping some of them up. He continues to introduce new, and frankly wonderful, things, but some headway on previously introduced plot elements would be a good thing.

3.5 out of 5