And Then I Read: JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN 3

Images © John Byrne.

I'm way behind on this title because my order for issue 3 went astray, and I just recently got this alternate cover version, so now I can read on.

This issue begins with Bethany, who, unlike Nathan, Jasmine, Danny and Tony, has not been flung into some horrific time and place in our past. Bethany is being held by a mysterious armored figure in some kind of secret headquarters, and he/she/it is revealed as the mastermind of the entire situation, showing Bethany some of what's going on with the others. None of that is good, all of them are in deep trouble. Nathan is in Nazi Germany being experimented on in a concentration camp; Jasmine is in Elizabethan England (I think), and Antonia is in the pre Civil War south where her dark skin color has her treated as a slave, and a dangerous one at that. Other incidents are equally puzzling to Bethany and us. The mysterious figure strikes me as a sort of Dr. Doom figure so far, with the big identity reveal coming next issue.

Byrne's art continues to look great on this series. The storytelling is somewhat melodramatic, but I'm getting caught up in it now. One thing I like is that these characters seem to have left behind any special powers or abilities for the moment, another mystery, making their struggles all the more human. How they will get out of the ever deepening holes they're in is what will keep me coming back.

Recommended.