So far I’ve been really impressed with Image Comics Morning Glories series even though it’s only a few issues in. Does the trend continue in issue 3? 

The issue starts off in 1490 in some sort of castle/prison. A young girl has been interned there and there is a scene that’s vaguely reminiscent of V for Vendetta. The story then jumps forward to the present day at the Morning Glory Acadmey where the effects of issue 2’s challenge are still being felt. There’s a lo t of arguing, a crazy nurse, Ike being generally awesome again, a bad-ass bald Spanish chick and several references to the issues beginning. 

Issue 3 has a lot of things going on and at times it felt like the story was a little too ambiguous and even confusing. Nick Spencer is crafting a rather grand story with many twists and turns and I’m just worried that he might try and do too much too soon. I was also surprised that there was no time spent exploring the climax to issue 2 (SPOILER) the fact that one of the characters is a mole in the group. That little detail and particularly that closing scene has just been left hanging for the time being and hopefully the story will come back to it at sometime. I’ve got a feeling that a lot of issue 3 will make sense later on when we actually start finding out what’s really going on in this school. Spencer is showing that he’s a master of suspense and keeping the reader guessing, never doing anything you would expect and while it can be annoying it is also the book’s greatest strength. 

Even though the series has been focusing on Casey as a main character, probably hinting at her status as the one the school really wants, I find Ike to be the best character in the series. His dialogue is always brilliant and even though he is only in this issue for a few pages he really stood out. Spencer seems to be setting up Ike as an equally important character who may save the day if he can be bothered.   

The artwork continues to be consistently good. It’s a really clean and bright style that utilizes color really well. Funny thing is the really nice art style is really unsettling considering the violent and sadistic nature of the series and it works well with the idea that appearances aren’t everything at Morning Glory Academy. Joe Eisma also captures the action in this issue really well. It’s a really cold, bloody and efficient style that really suits the character performing it.  

While there was generally a good use of body language and facial expression in the artwork there were a few times when the faces appeared shaped at odd angles and I feel like I’m missing something glaringly obvious in Eisma’s page set-up where he sets up the fight scene against images of Casey getting ready for class. Are we supposed to think that this is how Casey will end up, this is where her path is leading or this is something she needs to try and avoid or is this a comment on Ike and the advice he gave Casey which may not have been that good at all. I’m not sure.  

Morning Glories #3 meets the high standards set by the prior books. Spencer is almost toying with the reader and you really just want to know what the hell is going on. It will be interesting to see whether the reveal can equal or exceed the expectations the build-up is creating.