Quick recap so far: New day, new troubles. As always, human trafficking never goes well, and Zoë and her crew have picked up a mysterious young woman that Blue Sun wants back desperately, for some reason. Seeking a doctor that might be sympathetic to their cause, they make landfall on the homestead of Simon Tam and Kaylee Frye.

With a moment to breathe, the crew now focus their attention on solving the mystery of the cargo-woman. Noticing a strange implant on the arm of the woman, Simon does some sleuthing of his own while Emma and Lu try a more radical approach to uncovering the secret. Something tells me that Emma and Zoë are going to have words soon, but probably after dealing with their bigger problems.

Josh Lee Gordon’s script accomplishes a helluva lot in a single issue. While the mystery of the cargo does seem to be the major driver here, Gordon balances that deftly with some nice domestic scenes that really take advantage of the change of scenery. Simmering under it all is the mother-daughter tension between Zoë and Emma. What I’ve really enjoyed about this series so far is how much it feels like a very different show, despite sharing so much of the same DNA. While the original series deals a lot with chosen families and how they gel, Gordon’s take focuses on the dysfunction of family bonds instead.

I’ve come to expect nothing but beauty from Fabiana Mascolo’s artwork. All the strengths of the previous issues are here: laughs, intimacy, big world energy, etc. Lucia DiGiamarino’s colorwork is, in a word, gorgeous. It lends such a warm exuberance that really sets the tone and mood for the family-and-friends segments. The nighttime scenes are awfully purty… Jim Campbell… man, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but he is a very talented man, and anytime his name is on a title, I at least know that it’s going to be easy reading.

Overall, this issue is very much a reprieve after a tense couple of issues, but things seem to be getting messier in the ‘Verse.  

Creative Team: Josh Lee Gordon (writer), Fabiana Mascolo (art), Lucia DiGiammarino (colors), Jim Campbell (letterer)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
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