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

A lot of things have been happening in this series, to say the least, and this issue looks at the Tin Man and his origins and those other tin men of the past. It is, to put it simply, absolutely fascinating, this story of King Everette. So intriguing, so interesting, that it deserves a title all its own to be explored with as much action and drama as the creators of this book can possibly jam into it. While it is looked at here in a few pages, it merely whets the appetite and makes the reader want more before it cuts back to the Tin Man and his beginnings. King Everette of Oz it appears, wanted more than just ruling Oz. He wanted to rule all, and he wanted to bring his dead mother back to life along the way. Accomplishing the former would mean that his army would have to get bigger or stronger or both, and so as his conquests grew, so did the knowledge he and his witches would come across. It would get to a point where they would create a new magic, one that could animate tin, tin that would soon replace the lost appendages of his men. It would reach a point where he would gain a tin man army, nearly unstoppable, at least until he would meet Queen Zixi of Ix, a sorceress so powerful that he would finally meet his match. As for the Tin Man, who was thrown back in time with the rest of his companions, it would see him come full circle, aiding in his own creation. Though the second half of the book had a completely different feel to it than the first, author Steven Ahlquist does a great job of tying them together, if only through the simple fact that both parts of this tale deal with tin men. This latter part of the story is also a tragedy, as it finds the Tin Man in a time loop of sorts, aiding himself in his own creation. That in itself is a little traumatic, as he is on the brink of death, and yet, it also finds the future Tin Man arriving in his past just after his parents have died, and thus ends up experiencing it twice simultaneously. Altogether, a smart bit of writing on Ahlquist’s part and a scene that really hits home with the reader, making the Tin Man seem all the more human because of it. While it did not necessarily need to be any longer, what Ahlquist reveals in the Tin Man’s past makes the reader want to see just a little more of it, much like the beginning of the book. It is actually quite sad that this issue had to end when it did, as there was so much possibility tucked away inside of it, so much to be revealed that it really stuck with the reader long after it was finished. Great stuff, all around.

4.5 out of 5