Painting The Town Red with Reaver #3
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Our marauding crew have made it to a Raelish town that has sprung around an Escalene outpost. Marris needs the head of an Escalene officer and Escalene paperwork, and he’s charged Mahan, Rekala, and Eddos with infiltrating the town to get them. Naturally, they comply. Mahan and Eddos hit a bar in the Raelish town to find the officer while Rekala begins a process of threatening townsfolk to get her into the outpost. Meanwhile, Marris and the Devil’s Son have a meaningful chat about what their mission truly is.
Reaver #3 finds our unwilling heroes sneaking into an enemy town to get information and paperwork for the mission ahead. We get to see just how devious and resourceful Rekala is as well as how duplicitous and vile Eddos can be given the right opportunity.
The short conversation we get between Marris and the Devil’s Son is quite a good scene as well. It gives a glimpse into Marris’ motivations and what he knows about the Empire and the Escalene. Plus, it gives us more about the Devil’s Son as a character and his motivations.
Mahan is still a tough figure to get behind. He has his sense of duty, and he even has a bit of humor to him. However, he’s just not quite as interesting as Rekala, the Devil’s Son, Marris, or even Eddos. That’s a problem given that he’s the main character.
Rebekah Isaacs’ artwork continues to be excellent. The visual design of Reaver is impeccable, and the characters are aesthetically memorable and interesting. The detailing and expressiveness is fantastic too. Alex Guimarães’ color art is vibrant and well-balanced to boot.
Reaver #3 is another excellent issue for this fledgling Image Comics series. While I have my issues with the main character, the supporting figures, story, and art compel me with every page. This one gets a recommendation with ease. Check it out.
Reaver #3 comes to us from writer Justin Jordan, artist Rebekah Isaacs, color artist Alex Guimarães, letterer Clayton Cowles, and cover artist Becky Cloonan.
Final Score: 8/10
