Here we are at issue #6. We have 3 more issues to go. What do we get? More of the same. I have to be honest. This special has been 5 for 5 so far, but I was not really thrilled with this latest issue. Overall, it just felt like more of the same thing that we have been getting since issue #1.

For the most part, this issue is divided into three arcs, surrounding three different individuals; Gnarrk, Wally West, and Harley. The big problem is that this is more of the same. It is the story of what each of the three has gone through while at Sanctuary and what their mind set was….the same as the last 5 issues. Great back stories become endless whining.

Having said that, the issue can therefore be divided into three parts; really good, mostly okay, and what the hell?

The Good

The best part of this issue is Harley’s backstory. She is one of the central figures of the story arc so the more we learn of her, the better we learn what is going on. This issues centers not only on her and Ivy, but the ending of her relationship with Joker.

While she isn’t even supposed to be at Sanctuary, we see after her first holo-session that even decking a holographic Mr J. weighs heavy on her. We then get a beautifully crafted page where Harley and Ivy sit down and have a real sister-to-sister/heart-to-heart that we can now really see how much Ivy meant to Harley and why Ivy’s death hurt Harley so bad.

By the end, we get a scene of Ivy manipulating holo-Joker that cracks though Harley’s emotional wall and has her laughing. When the alarms go off, it is Ivy trying to keep Harley hidden that saves Harley’s life.

The Okay…

Also, we have the story of Wally West. His story really felt heart wrenching. He returned from somewhere. His return restored the happiness and hope of everyone around him, from Barry, to the Titans, to his family. The problem is that Barry isn’t feeling it. He feels isolated and alone. The creative team does a great job of illustrating this through his limited pages.

My biggest problem with Wally’s story is I really do not understand what is happening. They refer to so many things in his life and back-story. If you read his title, then you probably understand all that he references, but since I do not know what has happened, I feel like an outsider, missing too much information.

The Ugly.

Ugly is as ugly does I guess. Lastly we get Gnarrk. He is some sort of caveman that received some shard to the chest or something that made him immortal and super intelligent despite being a caveman. How do I know this? I had to Google it.

I don’t know who this guy is, nor do I know his back story or what he is mumbling about. Not only do I not feel his pain, but it’s almost painful to read his pages because I do not know what’s going on. Hard to care about a hero you have never heard of before. This really should have been a more familiar character even though Gnarrk dies near the end. Oh then there’s that…

That Last Three Pages…

Then we get here. What the hell?! Did they just show us what really happened and who the killer is? Or is this set up to look like we know who the killer is, but we are not shown enough and are being mislead?

If we truly did just learn who the killer is, then something else is involved because things don’t add up. If we are being mislead, then we will just have to wait and see what’s the truth when they want to show us the rest of the story.