CANTO #5: Fight to the Death!

David Booher begins Canto #5 with some creepy psychological techniques to sabotage the little hero’s self-esteem. The Furies recognize and fear Canto’s strengths then cast doubt in their opponent. Welcome to a guide to practical evil. Booher takes the “availability heuristic”, a sort of mental rule of thumb as the Furies try to destroy Canto’s courage. It may turn out to the persuasion of Canto’s thoughts that may lie in the amount of assertive and passive examples the Furies provide. The mind trickery works when the opponent is evaluating everything.

Most of this book, Booher writes without words with the talented team providing an action story through great artwork. Drew Zucker takes the steering wheel and drives the reader’s imagination in a fantasy style battle between the Furies and Team Canto. The three demonic-looking angels are very well crafted in great details. Zucker’s really captures the fantasy genre in the design of Canto’s new warrior ally and her pet, Zixia, which is a dragon-like creature with human-like fingers and toes. Zucker’s talents excel in the action sequences. Panel to panel, page to pate, he takes the reader’s eyes on a magical movement, like we are a part of the story. Zucker engages the fight scenes well with high energy and drama to the very death of one of the Furies! The colors by Vittorio Astone absolutely eye catching, especially the dark and creepy Furies! This is the added touch that articulates the art and the story. As part of the LGBTQ+ community, I have to admit that the rainbow coloration of Zixi’s feathered wings caught my eye immediately. This was the sugar to my morning coffee.

Canto #5, Booher improves on psychodynamics through the interactions of each character. The emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and especially Canto’s early-life experiences makes this issue the best one yet! Booher begins and ends this trippy book with challenging Canto’s self-worth. As next issue concludes this awesome run, will we see our little knight find what he seeks or succumb to the doubts laid by the evil Shrouded Man?