Dynamite; $3.99

After witnessing visions of Xena’s death, Gabrielle has set out to confront Caesar and end his violence. Xena, now concerned for Gabrielle’s welfare gets ready to fight for her, even if it means taking on Rome.

Gabrielle has been captured by Caesar with the request that she’ll become his bard and tell all of Rome how wonderful he is. Knowing that she’ll likely say no, he threatens to put the captured Xena into a gladiatorial match, if she denies him. But Gabrielle knows Xena better than anyone and neither woman is likely to bend the knee to an oppressor.

This was one of the better issues of this series. Genevieve Valentine’s story is intriguing, exciting, and romantic. She introduces a different answer to the usually black and white one surrounding the question of war. Both Xena and Gabrielle are cunning and prove how well they know each other with the steps they take during the conflict.

Julius Gopez provides clean art among all of the chaos. There’s a lot going on and Gopez does not mar it with extraneous lines or details. Nanjan Jamberi’s colors take on an earthy tone with subdued shades for the leather, steel, and sand. It’s a great pairing for the story.

-Amanda Sheriff