After Antimatter was destroyed and Singularity spared from the same fate as her evil counterpart, the ladies of A-Force are now on a new mission; to track down and stop any other beings that may have entered in our world.  Their battle with Antimatter has left tears in reality, that will allow other creatures, beings and entities to pass into our world.  The team ends up in Oregon to track a creature, but find a lot more then initially thought.

The team comes across a very large dragon looking creature above the town and also discover a mysterious figure fighting the creature.  No one knows who it is, but they all point out that it looks like Thor…well a Thor.  The figure is knocked to the ground infront of the team and it is discovered that is indeed a Thor…Dazzler Thor! (DazzleThor? Thorzler?  I digress..)  Upon laying eyes on the team, Dazzler Thor promptly places them under arrest in the name of Doom, for the crime of treason.  Along with the creature, this Thor has crossed over from the Secret Wars reality.  Brief explanations and differences set aside, the team agrees to work together to stop the dragon.  And they appear to do just that, with one punch from She-Hulk, the creature disappears.

The ladies take advantage of the victory, and the town, to go out and celebrate their win.  Dazzler Thor explains that the dragon is in fact known as The Countess; a magical evil from her world who was not defeated so easily, but rather slunk away to plan her next move.  The ladies share some laughs, stories and a lot of beer.  Dazzler takes some time to be by herself, and Dazzler Thor speaks with her to help over come any strange feelings between them (being mirror images of each other).  Dazzler reveals something to her doppelganger (that surprised me) and asked her not to tell the others.  The ladies reconvene and begin to move on, as Nico suddenly hears a voice only she can hear…and in a few moments, is under the thrall of The Countess and acts against her teammates.

Kelly Thompson does a great job of keeping the fun and humour of the first four issues in this new story arc, along with the action and team work.  What I really enjoyed most about this issue was the ‘every day’ scenes with the characters.  Sure, they just took on a dragon together…but seeing them enjoy the town, joke over drinks, and venture to a bakery for pie, just shows that these ladies aren’t just super heroes but people.  She-Hulk and Medusa keep up the head butting about tactics, and there is a great friendship growing between Dazzler and Nico.  Seeing how these ladies get along outside of saving the day really showed how strong this team is becoming…more then just allies, but friends.

Art duties have been taken up by Ben Caldwell.  When I opened the book and saw the first page, initially I thought “Hmm well…this is different” but as I went on, I found myself really enjoying his depictions of the characters.  Each one has a distinct look and feel, and I am very happy to see Dazzler getting a new look; getting away from the punk/emo and more light (pardon the pun).  I also have to give credit to Ian Herring for his colours in this book.  The two together have created a very nice looking issue, almost artistic with the looks of the woods and the town the team are in.

Overall, I really enjoyed this issue and the start of the new story arc. I have been a fan of this book since Secret Wars, and it has not disappointed becoming an ongoing title. The assembled team is a great cast of characters; strong personalities learning to work together and along the way, becoming friends. The writing is on point, giving us doses of humour and sarcasm, but also showing us that these heroes are confident, competent women who aren’t going to back away from a challenge.

Story: Kelly Thompson  Art: Ben Caldwell Colours: Ian Herring
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8  Recommendation: Buy