No friends, no teammates, no mentor…and soon, no hope!

Once, Livewire dreamed of devoting herself to the betterment of humankind. Now, her most steadfastly held ideals are about to be tested like never before as she struggles to stay alive in the clutches of a fearsome new foe! But who is the mysterious psiot mercenary hunting her…and more importantly, who do they work for?

After Livewire effectively turned off the electricity for pretty much the entire United States, Livewire #4 finally has our hero (or villain depending on which way you’re looking at it) acknowledging her actions during a fight scene that lasts the full issue, interspersed with flashbacks to highlight certain parts of the dialogue.

This is an issue that left me with mixed feelings; on one hand it had to happen so we could move on to the next phase of Livewire’s story, but on the other it fell a little flat after the previous issues.

Possibly because the fight scene was against a character I’m not familiar with other than his appearances in this series (whether that’s because I don’t remember him or he was only recently introduced I don’t know). It’s difficult to feel any real emotional weight with the confrontation that hadn’t already been played upon last issue, and so consequently the comic left me wanting more.

Raul Allen,and Patricia Martin are nothing if not consistent. The pair have a distinctive and very unique style to their work that brings the script to life. The focus on the chip in Livewire’s head builds to a wonderful visual payoff, and leads in to the culmination of the arc as a whole. The artistic team are on top form once again, remaining deliciously consistent in the quality as they veer from super detailed backgrounds to panels with a blank background that highlights the action within – especially with the focus on the bright blue items/things within the comic’s pages.

Livewire #4 takes a bit of a stumble along the way, but it’s still worth reading. So far, this book is the exception to the rule when it comes to the quality of the series, and as such I’m hopeful for a return to form with the next issue.

Story: Vita Ayala
Art: Raul Allen and Patricia Martin
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Story: 6.5 Art: 8.3 Overall: 7.6 Recommendation: Read

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review