MINOR THREATS #3: Hanging On by a Thread…

Blum and Oswalt continue the trend of juxtaposing the ongoing misadventures of Playtime and the rest of the haphazard crew in their ongoing quest to track down the Stickman with a first person narration by a different character for the issue. This time it’s the hardened heart of Scalpel that Blum and Oswalt expose, including her backstory and how she came to be who she is, what drives her, and how she is as good at what she does. The writing does an exceptional job of communicating the tragedy in Scapel’s life and the consequences of her own selfishness that define who she is and the reader’s understanding of the character as Blum and Oswalt continue to make you care about these losers. That’s the magic of this series I think. These flawed characters, whose hands are not clean resonate deeply with me because of the human face the writing has put on them.

But enough with the sappy stuff. Because let me tell you that this issue balances all that brilliant character work with some absolutely WILD action and superhero concepts, a healthy dose of humor, and some pretty horrific moments. The issue follows the crew as a clue Playtime manages to get in the wake of being shot leads them on a path to The Stickman’s lair but not before some truly remarkable hijinks involving finding and torturing (thanks Scalpel, remind me to never cross you) of a lead in a fast food bathroom, running away from a gung ho superhero in an absolutely wild chase through a permanent chronal anomaly only to end up exactly where they need to be…but not how they need to be there.

Scott Hepburn and Ian Herring turn the visuals up to 10 here. No scratch that 11. It’s a multicolored rollercoaster ride from the art team that has beautifully detailed interpersonal moments and the next absolutely wild splash pages as you get to look at Playtime with x-ray vision, overzealous superheroes slamming through buildings, dinosaurs, and other strange vistas as the team crosses the chronal anomaly. It’s visual dynamite and there isn’t a single page or panel in this issue that isn’t an absolute feast for the eyes through the amazing line art, coloring, and stupendously cool paneling that Hepburn uses! This is visually my favorite of the three issues so far. Nate Piekos sees to it that the lettering and sound effects fit into the superhero world on the page perfectly to round up another brilliant installment.