Titan Comics don’t mess about as they’ve already hit the halfway mark of the Assassin’s Creed comic series centred on Charlotte de la Cruz and her ancestor, Tom Stoddard. The last part of the adventure was a pretty impressive step up from the inaugural comic and gave me hope that this could be a great series come the end of the story arc. That’s only if it can keep the momentum going with issue #3.
At the end of the last comic, Charlotte found herself helplessly watching on, as the master assassin Tom Stoddard was seemingly trapped whilst an angry mob descended upon his location in Salem. With the nurse, Jennifer Querry, by his side and the key to their mission being a small child named Dorothy, Tom may have to make decisions that aren’t entirely natural to him. Can he escape the looming danger?
Whatever happens, Tom Stoddard is a tough nut to crack and it becomes glaringly obvious that very little, if anything, will force him to compromise on his morals or fail the code of the assassins. This is the reason I adore the character, he’s an absolute badass in every nature of the word and continues to be the best part of this series; I think deep down the writers know it too. The stubborn nature of Mr Stoddard may just land him in more problems though.
Spare a thought for Charlotte who had her five seconds of fame in the opening issue and has significantly less focus in the latest issue. Even when she’s in danger in real life, where the Templars are nearing closer, the supporting characters of Xavier, Galina and Kody get more time to shine. And as much as I’ve been rather critical of those three, I rather enjoyed their parts in this one, especially when the tension between them breaks into momentary chaos.
A new environment gave the artist (and colourist) a chance to show that drawing the streets of Salem and the insides of a modern day safe house aren’t the only strings to his bow. When various characters enter the wilderness, the foliage and accompanying features of a forest-like area are wonderfully designed and brought to life with well chosen colours. Something as simple as fire looks darn good too; this is quite easily the best of the series so far when it comes down to visuals.
Everything moves rather fast throughout this issue, which considering the frantic nature of the tale being told, fits perfectly. I can’t imagine it’s straightforward to get a story across with enough details whilst balancing that alongside the action sequences, but so far it’s allowing the reader to gather pieces of the story and the characters at a decent rate, in order to form a better understanding of the personalities within the series and what the mission is all about.
Issue #3 is a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read, featuring my most favourite section of panels so far where Tom Stoddard performs a sick arm breaking manoeuvre that wouldn’t look out of place in cage fighting. The only downside came with the fact that it’s becomes so good that I’m genuinely disappointed that we’re closing in on the final chapter of this tale.
If for any reason the reader wasn’t sure about coming back for issue #4, then an ever-reliable cliffhanger ensures that they are enticed to do so. I’m certainly ready for more.
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