Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews.  This is where we give advanced glimpses at some of the comics that will be coming out this Wednesday.

A reminder for you. Here at PopCultureSquad, we are decidedly Anti-Spoiler.  We feel that ruining someone’s experience with something for the sake of getting a scoop or clicks is the wrong thing to do. Therefore, we have decided to publish this column, as necessary, with mostly spoiler-free reviews of upcoming issues.  Hopefully, the information that we share with you will increase your excitement for these books.

This week’s preview comic is Incursion #3 from Alex Paknadel and Doug Braithwaite, published by Valiant Entertainment.  It is rare for us to preview a book in the middle of the run, but that might tell you how much we think of this series.

Incursion #3
Valiant Entertainment
Story by Alex Paknadel and Andy Diggle
Script by Alex Paknadel
Art by Doug Braithwaite
Colors by Diego Rodriguez
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Cover Art by Braithwaite

Official Solicitation:

The cosmic and supernatural sides of the Valiant Universe collide on Earth! Oh, my!

Having crossed over into the Deadside, the Eternal Warrior comes face to face with Syntilla, the young girl who poisoned Tama on behalf of her master. Will the Eternal Warrior save his young charge or will the world suffer another catastrophic loss?

Meanwhile, Doctor Mirage and Hwen do their best to keep Tama alive. Will the doctors find the right medicine or will the young Geomancer perish before help arrives?

For fans of legendary warriors and sci-fi horror stories.

PCS Review:

This series has been extraordinary so far. There is a no nonsense approach to the story telling that is very appealing. That the story is by no means simple or straightforward enhances the impact of the no frills story telling style.  Paknadel has developed clear and appropriate voices for the various characters, and the clearly diverse backgrounds of the characters make their way into the voice and attitudes of each in natural ways.

This issue is a wonderful example of a rising action sequence of storytelling. The clock is running out and the characters are forced to make choices that will impact the outcome of the overall dilema.  Paknadel again addresses each of these developments in a compelling fashion that feels like the story is a living breathing entity that is making its own choices. This is just the latest example of his exceptional deftness in the comic storytelling medium.

The art in this issue and the series as a whole is fantastic. The barbarous battle scenes are beautifully crafted to illustrate the effort involved in battle and just the right amount of gore. Braithwaite’s navigation and design of various landscapes is masterful, and there are some absolutely terrific camera angles that convey the weight of the scene that they are in. The art alone is worth the reading of this comic.

There is a lot of story in this book, but it is a greedy read. Each page imploring your on to the next. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book.