Red has not been having an easy adventure in this series and this is no exception. Last issue’s cliffhanger is an ugly one, and she has a serious fight on her hands. She gets some help from an unexpected ally. The ally is a bit of a surprise, but it was subtly set up last issue.
After the attack on her club last issue, Vampy needs to pick up the pieces and figure out where her enemies are coming from. She also has a lot of questions about her mysterious ally, Rassendyll. She doesn’t get all the answers she wants, but the two of them do get a lot more intimate with each other.
Now that they finally have shared the stories and realized they are on the same side, the Green and Brass Hornets, and their faithful sidekicks, have to fight their way across the city to stop the Veiled Lady from unleashing Hell on Earth, or at least a reasonable substitute. There are some amusing moments as Kato admires, and covets, the Brass Hornet’s array of tech and toys. Unfortunately, as part of the earlier plan, the Brass Hornet put out a large bounty on the Green one and most of the gangs in the city are trying to collect.
As if the golem running amok in Chicago wasn’t enough of a problem for Harry and Molly, to say nothing of its master, now Marcone is getting involved. For a mortal with no powers or training, Marcone knows far too much and is far too clever for anyone’s good, especially Harry’s or his own. He also knows Harry, thanks to the Soulgaze in Storm Front, well enough to know that Harry will protect Marcone, no matter what Harry happens to think of him personally.
True to her devil-may-care life style, when Red wakes up chained to a wall, her first thought is to wonder what she drank last night. It’s only after Frankenstein and his zombi-fied Nemo show up that she realizes she didn’t have a vivid dream. She meets Pierre Aronnax, who was the narrator of the novel 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, now in the captivity of Frankenstein.
After crossing paths several times, Vampy and man of mystery Rassendyll share a drink on top of the Scarlet Club, flirting and exchanging information. She optimistically says she thinks she can go a day without anyone trying to kill her, which is, of course, a cue for the bad guys. They don’t instantly attack, points there. But Dr. Moreau and company are siccing a new enemy on our heroine- Professor Van Helsing and company.
The Green Hornet and Kato in their steampunk reimaginings are working their very strange case. After escaping from last issue’s death-trap (you knew they were going to), they see more of the very odd gangs of the city fighting each other. Managing to get out of that mess, our heroes do some more socializing in their civilian identities before they are interrupted by the young Lord Homicide, who borrowed a trademark gadget from another hero’s legend to do it.
Molly gets the cover and first few pages of this issue as she deals with the nasty cliffhanger from last time. With a little help from Mister and Mouse, she wins, and manages to provide a clue for Harry about what the monster is that’s been running around. There are a few scenes in the middle with whoever the big bad guy is, and Karin showing why she’s such a good ally for Harry.
Someone is setting the gangs of the big city against each other, and the Green Hornet is determined to find out who. He and Kato battle through a few various bizarre foes trying to get a lead. They do have a great interrogation method that makes use of their current Black Beauty, the airship. It’s a fun scene.
I’ve been a fan of Zorro for as long as I can remember. Something about the swashbuckling, charming hero with a keen sense of justice really appeals to me. Dynamite’s been doing a great job with their (too few and too far between) Zorro stories, and added a few characters to his mythos. So, when I saw that Ladies Rawhide and Zorro were going to work together, I got curious.
