Another story arc wraps up with a cliffhanger in this very eventful and tragic issue. The strengths as well as the weaknesses of the series are on display. The art is beautiful and the story advances in an ominous new direction through a series of interlocking events. However, the sheer complexity of the story and the large number of characters to keep track of means the book is inaccessible to those not already rooted in the story. For those of us who are, every issue is an amazing payoff and another master class in world-building and how to construct a complicated, multi-layered story featuring memorable characters we care about.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The story continues with Maika trying to use her mask fragment to learn what the "razor light" is. She manages to see memories of Zinn and the Shaman Empress that tells her something, but her insight is interrupted by her smaller self warning her that "someone" is coming. The rest of the story reveals, through various characters, that the "Defiled Ones" who are imprisoned with the Old Gods are using the mask fragments to open doors and accesses to the world, coming in through the people who have used the mask. The issue ends with one of these beings seemingly taking possession of Maika.

A great deal more happens in the issue. Zinn manages to leave a message for Corvin and Zortia (more on her in a moment) without the Doctor realizing it. The Doctor's body is breaking down and he is more influenced by Zinn than he fully realizes - and Zinn is fighting back against his control. We see the Wolf Queen, Yvette Lo Lim (who is apparently also possessed by a demonic being - whether a Defiled One or Old God remains to be seen) and learn that the Monkey King Ancient is a spy and servitor of the being possessing Yvette. We see Seizi being tortured by the Doctor.

The mystery of the mask fragments has been a central part of the series, though it is easy to lose track of this in all the other balls in motion at any given time. What the mask is, where it came from, who or what made it, are all open questions. The sheer complexity of the story means that keeping up means reading, re-reading and thinking about the different clues being dropped at any given time.

Even for me, someone who loves this series, this is difficult at times. For example, I completely forgot about Zortia. Doing a brief internet search for her led to some reddit threads that told me a lot more about the character than I think I ever realized -and she is a fairly minor character! Gull makes another appearance and Maika reminds her of a moment of intimacy they shared that I had completely forgotten. It was only one panel, so that's fine, but it speaks to how even minor events can have a callback.

Overall, another great issue. The sense that the series is building towards a more decisive situation where some of the mysteries will be answered in time for the next step - presumably, some kind of confrontation with the horrific beings that drove the Ancients and the Old Gods out of their homes - to be taken. more