Pathfinder: City of Secrets #3

By Jim Zub, Leandro Oliveira & Ross Campbell

City of Secrets has been a series full of many main characters and even more interlocking stories that unite them. The problem that often falls onto a series with so many varying focuses is that the story can often feel rushed, with some aspects or characters not getting their deserved time in the stories. Up until now, Zub has handled the diverse group of characters well, but with issue #3 comes the inevitable downfalls that these types of stories are often met with.

Some parts of this issue felt rushed, as many characters shared the spotlight. This is only a small inconvenience in what was a very good issue in general. The best thing going for this series was its unique set of characters and its use of their time wisely, which was slightly poorer this time around. Some crew members, however, got their deserved highlights in this issue. Ezren, who has, up until this point, been one of the weaker members in the crew, shines in part three and takes center stage as one of the main focuses. He has been a one-dimensional character up until now, but has slowly been evolving with each issue, turning into a full-fledged interesting person this issue. Things take a dark turn for Kyra and the rest of the crew this time around as they are met with battle and death after their plan in last month’s issue fails. Changes certainly seem to be coming fast to the Pathfinder crew as some characters are met with danger, and others are met with hard decisions that could shape their future in the series.

Plenty of action keeps Oliveira busy, as there are multiple battle sequences shown, but it’s the many details on the people and environment that maintain this book’s high artistic quality. Campbell’s art is colorful and a real pleasure to look at, as it has been in all series, especially with the inclusion of magical elements in this issue that call for some bright colors. However, the colors this month were not given full justice as most scenes occurred during nighttime or in shadowed environments, which didn’t provide a lot of leniency for Campbell to express his colors.

Halfway through this miniseries and there have been plenty of plot/character developments that have kept this story interesting and fast paced. However, this issue may have tried to include too much which resulted in some scenes being rushed. Zub has still done a great job balancing the multiple stories, but this rushed issue was inevitable with everything going on. That being said, the art was still fantastic and the story has been interesting and unique, and if a fast paced, slightly rushed issue is the worst thing this series has to offer, then it’s doing just fine.