“Once all that separated us was a thin layer of warm rain.”
– Em’s Dream

Revival #18 begins a new story arc in the lives of Dana and Martha Cypress. Dana continues her investigation of her sister’s murderer but it seems the closer she gets to the truth the further away she actually is. The last story arc, that ended with issue #17, took Dana through some dangerous terrain and left her with more bruises and wounds than answers. This new issue seems to be more promising and we just might get to find out who the Masked Man in Black is and what his relation is to the Cypress family.

This issue begins with Dana still recovering from her interaction with…let’s call him the Man in Black for now. If you remember form the last arc, Dana and Derrick went looking for answers in Professor Aaron Weimar’s office but the Man in Black beat them to it. Whoever he is, he wanted information and/or evidence destroyed so he torched the place. He spotted Derrick and a scuffle ensued that ended in Dana getting slammed into the ground and glass in her back which she is still recovering from. Dana does get some answers before the issue is over through Randy Decker, the technician on hand, who at Heinlein Funeral Home saw the Man in Black originate coming out of the cremation oven as a Reviver.

The last arc set up a few stories that I hope we get some answers to soon. Ed Holt seems to be cooking up some backwoods espionage and wants to take down the local government starting with Sheriff Wayne. It’s too early to tell but I’m guessing Ed is going to be recruiting his own militia, if he doesn’t have one already, to take over the town or at least do some damage. This issue sets up what should be an interesting confrontation between himself and Sheriff Wayne.

We last left Em and her story with the Check brother’s murders coming to a head. Reporter May Tao discovered who killed them and why, possibly making a new friend in Martha Cypress in the process. I thought for sure it was going to be May’s last issue with the tear that our Em has been on. Which brings us into this issue and what we have been seeing with Em and her health. As readers we don’t know exactly what is going on with her and at this point all we can speculate is that she has some sort of side-effect from being a Reviver. The Revivers that we do know about seem to have gone a little crazy but that could be just emotional effects as a result of what they are going through. Em doesn’t look like she is coming unhinged but she is vomiting uncontrollably and blood is coming out of her pores. I did like the dream sequence she had this issue and can’t wait to get more of that story.

The issue ends with all the loose strings from #17 getting new life and most likely new stories. Cooper is obviously very important since we see him communicating with “the creeps” in this issue as he has before. I enjoyed this issue as I have every issue of Revival but I am more excited with where these new stories in this new arc is going to take us. What is happening to Em?

Who is the Man in Black? What is Dana’s next move in her investigation? What is Ed’s plan with Sheriff Wayne? Where does May go from here and with what she knows? what happened to Chuck, Lester’s Dog?

If you’re a fan of the comic you will not be disappointed and this is also a great jumping on point for new readers. The art is incredible and one of the few comics I read that makes me feel like I am truly immersed in this rural world. Revival is only going to get better from here and the stories and characters are getting more fleshed out with each issue.

This is my first review of Revival for Graphic Policy. Going forward should make these reviews better with more at my back to reference to. I hope you enjoyed the post and please check back every month for my review this great comic

Story: Tim Seeley Art: Mike Norton Colors: Mark Englert Cover: Jenny Frison
Story: 8 Art: 9 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review