Another late review, but it’ll be a short one anyway. In this issue writer/illustrator Soo Lee switches focus a bit from Maleficent herself to her faithful pet raven (or is it a crow? I’m not sure, but it’s a black bird). In the wake of the last issue’s encounter with Prince Gavin, Maleficent decides to send her raven out to fly over the woods to be on the lookout for any other potential challengers.

We know that at the end of the first issue, Maleficent transformed the prince’s foolish brother Reynard into an animal. It’s unclear to me exactly what kind of animal he is, some kind of feral cat, I think. But he’s still out there roaming the woods as Maleficent’s raven flies overhead, Reynard notices it and proceeds to give chase.

What follows is a 15-page sequence of cat vs bird. It’s mostly silent, except for a few animal noises (the bird going “caw”, the cat going “rrrr” and “reow”) and I was captivated the whole time. I don’t think many creators could pull this off, but Soo Lee makes it work. Her artwork gives the atmosphere a dark forbidding tone that haunts the entire issue, it’s like the forest itself is a third character in the story. This book continues to impress me.

Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS

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