VICTORIAN #21 32 pages, full color, $2.95/$4.60 Penny Farthing Press www.pfpress.com Created & Developed by Trainor Houghton Script - Len Wein Pencils - Claude St. Aubin Inks - James Taylor Colors - Hi-Fi Painted cover - Glen Orbik

The master plan of the wealthy Claude Ballare is coming together but the botched murder attempt on Eudora Kincaid and her grandmother must be dealt with first. Detectives Reyna Starkweather and B.S. Harriman have secretly worked freelance for the underworld and somehow got foiled by the mysterious stranger in the top hat, known locally as "The Hat." He has rescued the ladies and is hiding them with a group of goth kids, with painted faces and brightly decorated high hats! There is another person dressed like The Hat who has dispatched another failed hoodlum for the bad guys and now she is going to take care of the failed assassins as well. Why is she dressed so much like the hero of the piece? Is it to throw suspicion on him if she is seen? Is it possible she is a former or current colleague working both sides or secretly against him? With four more chapters to go the answers will come soon.

Also with the goths is Winston Fitzrandolph, another new friend of The Hat, and he recognizes Eudora. They all are told of the secret society The Hat belongs to and the master plan he is trying to thwart. Another revelation comes to Eudora when he reveals the mastermind behind the plot, her friend's father, Claude Ballare. And we, the readers, find out just what he has been planning all along.

This is a masterful story that is coming together nicely to what is sure to be a great climax.At first there seems to be an abundance of characters to keep track of but each has his or her part to play and the story is woven carefully so as not to confuse us. The art is superb in every aspect. I see no flaws and am left to wonder why it hasn't gotten a lot more praise in the usual comic press and online media. It really deserves your attention.

http://www.digitalwebbing.com/cbem/12.html