The art, however, is very nice, but maybe I have a soft spot for the quirky, sly smiles that Stjepan Sejic constantly has Rachel making. She's pretty sultry when she's flirting and fierce when she's angry. Yes, I have a Dr. Harrison crush. Sejic's style plays toward exaggerated facial expressions and mannerisms - and it really works when paired with this kinda wholesome, sprightly character with a fiery heart.

While not a rollicking action-packed adventure, this first issue definitely promises a lot of great character examinations and some wonderful monsters for the rest of the series. Keep your eye on this one.

I never thought that I'd be interested in a Before Watchmen book, or that there would even be another story worth telling in that universe. But this plays less as a prequel and more of a "spin-off"; an examination of a fundamental truth of nature. It seems to neither add to Watchmen nor diminish it. It stands alone, perhaps as decoherent as the universes it plans to travel through.

Everything in this comic is so over-the-top it's going down on the other side. You heard me. Cobra Commander hisses, Ninjas abound, Roadblock gives a body massage, Destro sublty implies his superiority. It's everything you love about GI Joe to the maXXX. I'm sure there are girls out there who'd enjoy it, too. Just don't let a girl see YOU reading it.

I've written all of this and there's still hundreds of more pages to Double Barrel. Heck isn't simply a diamond in the rough, either - there's a lot of great content from other creators in every issue. I will say, however, that my enjoyment of Heck, alone, makes it worth the price of the whole magazine.

I’d give this issue a 5/5 for the spectacular fight scene alone but taken as a part of the entire series, it’s not the best issue overall. Just another wonderful link in this military action-adventure series.

Nevertheless, the issue ends on a high note with a violent twist and introduction of a big antagonist and the promise of a major supernatural battle to come. This resurrection, pun intended, of Ghost is not holding a candle to the series' past incarnations, but it will be interesting to see what happens when Elisa recovers her memory and starts meeting her potential.

Alright, so it sounds a little predictable, and maybe it is. It reads a bit like 24 meets E.R. with a dash of The Andromeda Strain. But it's got just enough technobabble and well-written prose accompanied by some bloody, suicidal diseased folk who feel an urge to kill and travel north. I'm curious why. Maybe you will be, too.

Of particular note is the simply awesome, vibrant, and kinetic cover by Tonci Zonjic that sets the tone for the entire one-shot. I'd get that thing framed, if I could.

The following score is subjective. If you're no Next Gen fan, you're not giving this book a second glance. For the rest of us:

Recommended for die-hard Star Wars Expanded Universe fans of the highest Jedi order, or fantasy geeks who'd mod a lightsaber into their Skyrim save-game if they could.

I'm a sucker for Vietnam War stories. If you are, too, you'll enjoy - but I can't say it's bringing anything new to the genre, even with its supernatural twist. However, any fan of the original mini-series should certainly check it out for the answers it promises.

Finally, it must be noted that this series is an homage to Rondo Hatton, the 1930’s-40’s actor who had the very disease from which Oxel suffers. His facial and skeletal disfigurements typecast him as a villain in most roles and noteably as, “The Creeper”. While this doesn’t seem to play out literally in this issue, I wonder if we’ll see parallels later, or if the series is simply is a tribute to a hero.

No, there is no action in this book. What is here will linger with you longer than any bruise or broken bone. It's deep in your gut with your fears and resignation.

Regardless, the adventure that is The Massive continues to be part mystery, part cautionary-tale, part textbook, part character study, part new-western, and all around fascinating read.

As a "season premiere", this issue isn't the most exciting. But, like the opening of a new chess game, we're seeing some pieces moved into some compelling places. The moves may seem ordinary or played-out, like the new "girlfriend held for ransom" plot line, but Thief of Thieves continues to show us that its focused, always, on its endgame.