I recall thinking that this was a strange creative team for a Sam & Twitch series, especially given Bendis's less-than-fun departure from the original series, but as it turns out, Andreyko and Morse are a perfect team to remind me that I used to enjoy reading about these characters. Andreyko introduces some characters and even plot elements from some of Bendis's work, which makes me worry that I need to drag out the old issues and reread if I really want to get the whole thing, but the book seems pretty accessible so far, and it's certainly interesting. And, with Morse on the artwork, beautiful to look at.
The storytelling style here, a story told in three parts and three different times, all inter-related, is a very clever and perhaps even unique method of telling the story, and that alone would get my interest. That the story is also gripping, hinting with each story at what's going on in the others without completely giving it away, or that Morse turns in his usual great performance on art, just shows that these guys know how to deliver on the potential in a good storytelling gimmick.
There are any number of things that are very effective about this triple story structure. We get to see three sides of Twitch, that of the cop, the grieving father and the (let's face it) badass, which is nice. But also, Andreyko and Morse get to jump right into the middle of the story without the confusion that can sometimes result from that kind of storytelling, since they're also showing us the backstory at the same time. It's a clever way to have your cake (we're right in the middle of the exciting stuff of the story) and eat it too (nobody is left behind in terms of background or character development).
Andreyko's story is very dark, exploring a father's nightmare and taking it to its logical conclusion rather than playing out the tired old "we need to be better than the bad guys" riff. Or at least, so it appears. One of the things I appreciate about this story, helped considerably by the unusual structure, is that Andreyko has left a number of mysteries up in the air. It's easy to draw conclusions about what happens, given the funeral and Twitch's trip to prison, but there's plenty of room for misdirection and revelation left in the mix.
I'm getting a sense here that as the book rolls on, I'm going to like it more and more, and it will probably wind up on my favorites list before too long if it can maintain this level of quality and (always a question with McFarlane-produced books) a regular schedule.
