Though Simon Oliver finally gives readers an understanding of the forces John is facing and makes good use of Map, a mainstay of the Vertigo era, the main plot suffers a bit due to his long check ins with the rest of the cast. Read Full Review

Theology tells us the Djinn are one of the three sapient creations of God. As with human beings, they can be good, evil, or neutral. Thus as with humans, they possess free will. They were to have been created from smokeless and scorching fire. They're also immortal, can easily rip a man in half and are powerful to the point that they've terrified every member of the supernatural in London. I can't wait to see where Oliver takes us with Marid. Read Full Review

Juggling a few plots simultaneously is no easy feat, as evidenced by this issue. I'd like to say it worked more often than not, but truthfully each story came across like a pile of bricks rolling down a cobblestone hill; we get the point by the end, but there's a lot of tossing off before we get there. That's the proper Britishism, isn't it? "Tossing off?" Like s story throbbing in jerky spasms before gushing to the inevitable payoff. A totally legitimate literary term. Read Full Review