Dark Horse; $4.99  

Edward and Angie’s game with the Masterminds has gotten seriously out of hand. A man has been killed, Edward and Angie almost drowned, and now Edward is injured and about to pass out as another round of the game starts. They are on the run, desperate to complete the levels, stay alive, and find the gamemasters.  

The creative team of writer Zack Kaplan, artist Stephen Thompson, and colorist Thiago Rocha are crafting a high tech noir tale in Masterminds. Every level of the game has raised the stakes just like in the video games Edward and Angie love to play, but with their actual lives in the balance. The book is rife with twists and its becoming heavy with paranoia as Edward doesn’t know who to trust and who’s behind the Masterminds.  

The pacing in the book is so quick that the reader feels like they are in the race too, but that doesn’t mean it’s light on story or art details. A lot has happened in just four issues surrounding Edward’s ambition, the way that the powerful can be sadistic, and the blurring between reality and the game. The art has been awesome, anchoring every setting with fine detail, and using a variety of panel angles, long shots, and close ups to heighten the drama and style. 

–Amanda Sheriff