Valiant; $3.99

Livewire has been on the run, hunted by the government, mercenaries, and others for using her teletechnopathic abilities to shut off power in the U.S. The mercenaries that did catch her were part of a larger organization that included scientists who implanted a device in her brain to disable her powers.

After escaping their custody, Amanda McKee headed back to Brooklyn for some regrouping and strategizing. What she found was a violent confrontation with an old classmate from Toyo Harada’s Harbinger Foundation.

This issue by Vita Ayala was equal parts revealing dialogue and extensive fight scene. This series has been focused on the repercussions of cutting off the electrical power and all of its consequences from the large and obvious down to the seemingly minor. In issue 3, the attention turns ever so slightly toward Livewire’s intentions and what may really be at the heart of her decision to attack. Usually, this type of lengthy introspection in comics gets heavy handed, but Ayala handles it deftly, staying on point.

The art by Raúl Allén with Patricia Martín and Scott Koblish sets the pace by showing each strike and closeups that add emotional weight. It’s a rainy, alley fight that could’ve been lifted from an ’80s action movie, minus the cheese factor and adding in some real urgency.

-Amanda Sheriff