So far this series has kept its hand fairly close, only revealing bits and pieces as the plot needed, but this third issue finally lays down a deeper framework for the direction which this series will be taking.  Up until this point this murder-mystery involving a serial killer could have gone in a few different directions, with even a purely supernatural terror not being ruled out.  This is no longer the case as the story unfolds to explain a probable link to the murders.  As one of the characters explains, it is something which would be easily described as a cult, even if its rituals are far more elaborate and ingrained.

While this potentially sets up the antagonist of the series as a misguided cult-like follower, there are a lot of other things going on.  For the first time Dana is forced to face Decker, even though it is across a crowd, yet it reveals the complexities of her character.  Her past is tied to Decker in a way which she could not escape and although she wants to find he is targeting oil field workers, she also craves some resolution to the demons that haunt her.

This series had taken a new look at the War in Iraq and through its new perspective revisited some of the underlying problems involved with the conflict, some of which are wounds which are not yet closed in the national psyche.  This series deserves credit for not tiptoeing around the facts and instead dives straight into them, providing a sense of reality even when the world around them is populated with something more fantastical.  This is a well written series, and is more difficult to read than most series, but only because the setting and concept are so divisive in terms of ethics and power.

Story: Michael Moreci & Tim Daniel Art: Colin Lorimer
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review.