Heist, Or How to Steal a Planet #3 is out January 22, 2020. — **Heist, Or How to Steal a Planet #3** is out January 22, 2020.

By Jarred A. Luján — Heist, Or How to Steal a Planet is an ambitious comic book series. It has made no secret of that, because you surely don’t subtitle something Or How to Steal a Planet in an attempt to be subtle. From page to page, the book has continued to bring together the disparate aspects of it’s plot, it’s tone, and it’s widely different cast of characters into one cohesive book. While each issue has been successful, I’m not sure there’s been a better landing for it than in this one, Heist, Or How to Steal a Planet #3.

The thing about Heist #3 is that it is raucously funny. Specifically, it just feels like there’s a seamless match between the way the jokes are written and the way they come across visually. There’s at least three times here where we get close-ups on characters saying nothing, but their expressions sell the joke. It’s so funny, and I absolutely love how it came across time and time again here.

Further, I also love how Heist leans into what it is. It takes a heist story and injects it with sci-fi weirdness, from disguises to wild guns to aliens to dystopian gangs. So much of what makes Heist a fun book is about how you as a reader have little to no idea what the hell is going to happen from one page to the next. That sort of approach extends to the characters, as wild a bunch of misfits and killers that you couldn’t find in any other comic out right now. This is a real Gaville-heavy issue, and I would like to come out say on the record that she is just the best. Paul Tobin has written a wonderfully weird and wild book that is wholly of its own category.

However, this book doesn’t work without Arjuna Susini on interiors. It just doesn’t happen. Like I mentioned before, Susini’s ability to display emotion with enough force to express varied emotions as well as the subtle shifts that make the close-ups funny? That’s what makes the book’s pages SING. I couldn’t possibly finish this review without mentioning that there are some sudden, violent shifts that happen in the book, and Susini has a special ability to craft those to feel as surprising as they are fun. Vittorio Astone is a colorist who consistently puts out top tier work. I really felt like Astone found a perfect pairing with Sumit Kumar back on These Savage Shores, but his work with Susini has shown his ability to consistently pair with other artists as well, the mark of a truly great colorist.

Saida Temofonte’s letters are also choice. There’s a dog scene here that heavily relies on Temofonte’s use of lettering to get across what is occurring, and it is pulled off masterfully. I’m a fan of the SFX choices in general, but the tone shift that Temofonte uses to get the point across is perfect.

Overall: All in all, Heist, Or How to Steal a Planet #3 is an ambitious issue that matches this series overall high level of ambition. With big laughs, solid art, and a nice hook for an ending, this is a solid issue that already has me clamoring for #4. 8.0/10

Heist, Or How to Steal a Planet #3
Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Arjuna Susini
Colorist: Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99

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Jarred A. Luján makes comics, studies existential philosophy, and listens to hip-hop too loudly. For bad jokes and dog pictures, you can follow him on Twitter.