Luke Owen reviews The High Ways #3…
Mysteries begin to unfold as our crew learns there are plots within plots and betrayals within betrayals. And just what IS the relationship between Cagney and Megan?
I’m not quite sure where I stand with The High Ways. The first issue was this slow-paced sci-fi Dan Dare-esque affair with a final panel that sucked me right in while the second issue was a fast-paced twisty-turny mess which left me feeling a little empty. The High Ways #3 on the other hand just feels like a completely different book altogether. Even the cover looks like it should have been the cover of something else!
It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination; in fact it’s actually quite great. But there is something that doesn’t quite sit right with me and I guess it boils down to one simple problem – it’s not had enough time to breathe.
Much like Chris Ryall’s The Hollows, The High Ways has been a victim of the 4-issue run. The story is intricate and interesting enough to have supported eight maybe ten issues but because it’s only split over four it zips along from location to location without any chance to establish where it is or what it’s trying to accomplish.
I will say that this issue was better paced than last months and its managed to cram a lot in without if feeling overdone. After her second betrayal at the end of The High Ways #2, Megan has steered our heroes to another planet so she can be reunited with her boss. While incarcerated, some trigger words set off the mild-mannered Eddie into an acrobatic arse-kicking soldier of fortune – hell bent on getting his friends to safety.
The twist of Eddie’s backstory took me completely by surprise and it was great to see him doing something other than moan and complain. However there were a couple of other twists in the issue which I felt were incredibly forced, but nothing that took me out of the moment. There is some really good action in this issue including a superb scene of Eddie busting in on Megan getting down and dirty with the “monster” he saw in the final panel of The High Ways #1 and John Byrne’s artwork is once again great in that retro kind of way. It was really interesting to see him draw something other than people standing around talking.
But while there is a lot here I do like, I’d struggle to recommend The High Ways this week. If you’ve bought into the previous two issues then by all means pick it up, but a newcomer will feel totally lost and it’s not really worth going back to The High Ways #1 to see what you missed.
Originally published March 13, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
