Jack’s adventure as the Bearer of The Mark of Aeacus continues. A mysterious stranger appears at the foot of Jack’s bed, tells him the secrets of the mark of power that he bears, then tells him he must die. Can Jack’s mysterious new powers save him… or would we all be better off if they didn’t?

Following the events of the previous issue, Jake is having strange nightmares about ancient Greece. He wakes up, having slept most of the day, only to find a mysterious man in a red hood holding a knife to his throat. From there, we get a recap of the origin of the Mark which Jake now bears. I don’t want to spoil it all but Aeacus was a son of Zeus, who came to rule his own island-kingdom on Earth, eventually becoming a lord of the underworld in death. When one particular man was poisoned by his wife after she caught him in bed with another man, Aeacus sent him back to Earth with his Mark, giving him the powers to exact justice. And that was the first of the bearers throughout time.

We don’t get the red-hooded man’s name, but he appears to possess some powers of his own, at least the power of invisibility. He claims to represent another being who wants to put an end to Aeacus’ legacy, which means killing the latest bearer of the Mark to end it, once and for all. But, for some reason, he has to wait until Jack manifests the Mark again before he can kill him. As he tells Jack all this, Jack swears he never wanted the Mark in the first place, and just won’t use it again, but the red-hooded man says he won’t be able to fully control it. Sure enough, out on the street, as they pass a random man, the Mark expands around Jack’s body and takes over (it can sense a person’s evil nature) and proceeds to attack. And that’s when the Red-hooded man strikes…

Okay, I love the backstory for the Mark (I’ve also been a fan of Greek Mythology in general anyway), and the way writer Charles “Zan” Christensen deftly weaves it into the story here, while still leaving enough details vague to continue the mystery and hook the reader into wanting to know more. Mark Brill’s art continues to impress, as it sets the dark tone for this story. The scenes where the Mark fully manifests are reminiscent of the symbiotes for Marvels’ Venom and Carnage (except Jack is naked and his penis is visible). This is an intriguing new series and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Chacebook rating: 5 STARS

My only complaint is that, like the first episode, it is a tad expensive. Once again, the issue includes a bunch of bonus material which, in my opinion, could have been excluded in order to lower the price from $4.99.

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