The God of Blades has been obtained. The team needs to hustle to get to their destination of the dome. A military attack stands in the way. Crossover #5 is an interesting comic that feels like something is missing but still generally flows in an over-the-top nature. A terrorist attack has forced the government’s hand. It has forced an attack on the comic characters that have bled over into the real world and the dome. This complicates matters as our group of heroes is caught in-between.

Writer Donny Cates begins to wrap things up in this penultimate chapter of “Kids Love Chains”. The issue isn’t bad but feels like there’s something missing. What happens due to the attack is explained but we don’t see the setup of the attack. The terrorist attack itself is a bit odd as the person that’s the cause doesn’t have the tell-tale signs of being from the comic world (the dots). It’s a headscratcher why his captors would so easily fall for things. From there, it’s a quick decision to attack the dome as well which again feels like a quick ramp-up of the situation, and things are skipped off-panel. In other words, the comic feels a bit rushed and choppy.

Cates dials back the self-referencing and the comic doesn’t quite feel like ego-inflation which has been danced around for bits of previous issues. The issue is focused on that action as the group must decide what to do with the bombing raid before them (which makes you also wonder why the US hasn’t done this before?).

This is an issue that feels more visuals than dialogue and plot and Geoff Shaw delivers. There’s some stunning pages, especially as the God of Blades is used and a choice is made in how to deal with a threat. Along with Dee Cunniffe‘s color and John J. Hill‘s lettering and design, the series as a whole has shined when it has come to the art. Here’s a prime example as pages are packed in with action and characters and the comic both does its own thing and pays an homage to action comics of the past. The Ben Day dots that indicate a character is from comics continue to be amazing and such a nice detail that stands out in a creative way.

With some fun pop-culture references and a big action sequence, Crossover #5 is a fun comic to read. It stumbles in that it could use a bit more of a setup. Steps feel like they’ve been missed and we go from 0 to 10 in no time at all. I thought I missed an issue when I first began to read the comic. Still, it delivers action, drama, and ups the stakes of it all.

Story: Donny Cates Art: Geoff Shaw
Color: Dee Cunniffe Letterer/Design: John J. Hill
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: comiXology – Zeus Comics – TFAW