With Arcadia in the grip of a war between the old gangs and the newly arrived militia known as “The Chosen,” mob boss Carmine Tango arranges a meeting with a visiting billionaire. When X crashes the party, he’ll discover an enemy categorically unlike any he’s ever faced!

BETTER OFF DEAD, PART 3

Yeah, I know this is extremely late (X#16 comes out Wednesday) but I’ve busy, so I’m playing catch up. This issue opens with it being 2 weeks since the events of issue #14. X has been hiding away in that abandoned police station healing and getting back into shape, ready to resume his mission. He’s kept one of The Archon’s men hostage all this time, trying to find more info on whom he is and what his plan is but hasn’t gotten much out of him as the man is fanatically devoted to his master, like a religious disciple. Meanwhile a European billionaire named Peter Winter has just come to town. He’s been buying up large parts of land in the city and is snubbing the mayor in favor of a meeting with Carmine Tango. Leigh has also spent the past two weeks working with the Feds using her reporter skills to find out all she can about The Archon, but The Feds still have capturing X as their main priority.

Winter and Tango meet for dinner at a restaurant, with Tango expecting to work out a business arrangement. But Winter quickly turns the tables on Tango, thanks to a surprising traitor in Tango’s midst, and almost kills him, but relents in exchange for all the info Tango has on X. Just then, X crashes the party. Winter taunts X as if he knows him, saying he sees through X’s “pathetic ragtag disguise”. Winter also appears to have superhuman strength and may be invulnerable (although that may be just body armor underneath his suit, it’s not clear) and the confrontation ends with X on his knees at Winter’s mercy, as Winter begins cutting off X’s mask because “I want to see your face when you die.” TO BE CONCLUDED

Writer Duane Swierczynski never rests on his laurels and this is why I love this series so much. Just when you think it’s settled into a new status quo, everything gets shaken up all over again. Just when you think X has started to effectively clean up the city, a new crime boss comes to town and destroys everything X has built. And just when it looks like that crime boss has taken over and will be X’s new main nemesis, a new even badder villain arrives in town. I mean you just never know what’s going to happen next with this book. If you aren’t reading this yet WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?

And Eric Nguyen returns with this issue on the art, backed by the coloring of Michelle Madsen, providing the classic modern/noir-ish look that makes this book look so unique. I can’t recommend this series high enough. FIVE STARS!

Buy it NOW on Dark Horse Digital!