Although the initial concept for Morning Glories was one that seemed like it was an easy enough mystery, it was always designed to be one of a run of about 100 issues, and thus at issue #47, the series is approaching the halfway point (or might even be past it) but there are not really a lot more answers now than there ever have been before.  This series has always been a literary hydra, by answering one question another two questions come up in its place.  The series has nonetheless been roughly structured to give it some kind of sense, and this issue is evidently one that will be leading up to a bigger moment, although in itself it is not really shooting off in some strange direction.

The story here is pretty basic, as Ike is determined to help Casey win the election, and he has set up a dance party in order to build interest in her.  As opposed to some issues which focus on primarily one character, this issue focuses on a variety of them, including every member of the original team that is still at the school.  There are some allusions to what is happening elsewhere, but the main focus here is on Casey, the series’ protagonist, who now seems destined to win class president.  This is of course the moment that the readers have been waiting for, as it will potentially mean the freedom of Jade as well, though with this series it can be hard to tell what to expect.

The best part about this series is that it always manages to mix the absurd and the unknown with real human moments.  These are children under great duress as members of the Morning Glories Academy, but they are still ones that sneak out in the middle of the night for a party, and who get nervous when they have to ask the pretty girl to dance.  It is what has made this series a standout even when its plot is inexplicable.  The same is true here, as this issue does not really seem very important to the overall direction of the series, but provides the well-written characters a chance to interact with one another, a relative rarity in this series.  Something big seems to be just around the corner, but in the meantime this issue serves as one of the better intermediate issues thus far in this series.

Story: Nick Spencer Art: Joe Eisma
Story: 9.1 Art: 9.1 Overall: 9.1 Recommendation: Buy

Image provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review