This issue begins with Max and Case breaking into a local newspaper while Denny is in a car outside with a walkie-talkie (remember, it was 2006, so smartphones weren’t as common back then), acting as a lookout. This newspaper had covered Denny’s adventure in the previous issue, where he stopped that store robbery while dressed as The Escapist. Max and Case plan to drop off an advance copy of their first issue to the newspaper’s literary critic in the hopes that he’ll review it. They make it to the man’s desk just as they’re alerted by Denny that the night watchman is headed in their direction, but thanks to Max’s expertise in the inner workings of elevators, they manage to get out in time.

The critic does indeed publish a review of their comic in the following paper, but to Max’s chagrin, while the review calls Case’s artwork impressive, he derides Max’s writing as amateurish and laughable. Denny and Case try to cheer up Max, insisting that the review doesn’t mean anything, but this makes Max depressed, assuming this will guarantee that his comic will fail, and leads to him having a nightmare where he’s a young boy again and is taunted by his parents for letting them down.

The next day, Case is working on inking their second issue, although Max is convinced they’ll never be able to publish a second issue now. But Case convinces him to let her help teach him how to ink her pencils as she continues to give him a pep talk and explain why she loves drawing so much. And that’s when Denny comes in with the shocking news that according to their distributor, pre-orders for their first issue are at 80,000, making it one of the top ten comics of that month.

This news brightens all of their spirits, especially Max’s, as he immediately starts thinking of story ideas for future issues, including the need for a more compelling villain to face The Escapist. But the book ends with a foreshadowing sequence that introduces a new potential villain that Max may soon face in real life.

Another very well-written issue by Brian K. Vaughan, who I can’t help but wonder if he’s basing Max’s motivations on himself, as he really captures the pain Max feels in response to his first bad review. I imagine that’s something all professional writers feel when it happens. And the writing team of Steve Rolson and Jason Shawn Alexander continue to impress, as once again, the issue features two distinct art styles between the scenes that take place with Max and his friend in the real world and the scenes that are meant to represent Case’s art in their comic book.

Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS

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