I have said a couple of times in the past few months that Amala's Blade from Dark Horse is the cure to what ails comics.  The more times I find myself saying it, the more true it gets.  This issue, it really kicks into high gear and we readers are left holding on for dear life.

There is a lot of talk in the comics critique world about how stories are too decompressed.  Modern storytelling sometimes takes months or years to get through a story arc.  While there are ups and downs, we often find ourselves lamenting the absence of fast paced action packed storytelling and rightfully so.

This is not one of those books.

Amala's blade starts with a shot, as we rejoin our heroine mid-assassination attempt.  In this issue we will uncover secrets, get thrown in a dungeon, try to prevent a war, and in the mean time learn more about our heroine than twenty four pages of exposition could have told us.  This is good old fashioned action comics.  Steve Horton delivers a story that's at once engrossing and at the same time moving so fast that you're having to work just to keep up.

And the thing is, Amala's Blade is not the first story that moves at this rate that I've read.  But the problem with these types of stories is that with so much happing the art becomes unclear and confusing.  You lose track of who's doing what.  That's what sets Amala's Blade apart.  Dialynas never misses a beat, never blows a cue, and never leaves you having to guess.  Every panel is crafted with care.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Amala's Blade is good comics.  There are industry pros and entire publishers that need to have a good long look at what's between these covers.  It's rare that you get a trio of writer, artist, and character that are so dynamic.