This issue of Trista & Holt is another digression from the main story. In the last issue, we covered the backstory of Trista, as she was groomed for a position in her aunt’s criminal empire. This issue, we delve into the backstory of Isidor Holt. Isidor Holt Sr., that is: father of our male protagonist and head of the Holt crime family.

We begin in the present, as Isidor (also called Anguish, though not in this issue) is called to identify the body of his brother-in-law, Moore Holt, who was shot by Trista a few issues ago.

“But wait!” you ask. “Why does his brother-in-law have the same last name as him?” Well, as it happens, “Holt” isn’t even Isidor’s real last name. As he leaves the morgue, we see his early years during World War II, where he was imprisoned at Auschwitz. Then, we watch as he makes the first few crucial connections that will aid him in forging what will one day become the most powerful criminal empire in the unnamed city where our story takes place.

This is another really fun issue. I must say, I’m liking the digressions and backstory even more than the story itself. Of course, once we resume the regular story, I’m sure it will be that much better for all the things we’ve learned. It’s been a good comic from the beginning, but now it’s beginning to pick up even more, giving us a story that’s unique, engaging, and, most of all, fun. If you’re not reading Trista & Holt, I highly recommend you start.