By Keigen Rea — With seven scenes in 22 pages, No One’s Rose #3 pushes the amount of story you can reasonably tell in a comic, and fortunately, it succeeds.

The issue shows our main characters growing apart, both in distance and philosophy, and sets the stage for a new status quo. I really like how it feels like a new angle on the series even though it’s only three issues in. Moving quickly like this is a testament to the team’s ability to craft a world in just a few issues. Of course, this issue is very dense, and I’d nearly call it bloated if not for the dual POV that the series deploys. I really like the way it pushes the characters into their new roles, and the issue does end up working, so it’s a success overall: if anything, the density of the issue demonstrates the team’s vast storytelling abilities. 

I am still weary of where the plot is going. I think the characters of Seren and Tenn are equally shown as flawed individuals, but I’m afraid that may just be my perception and not completely intentional on the creator’s part, especially when it comes to Seren. He very much is coming off as a somewhat generic male lead who questions authority and paves his own road, which to me wouldn’t be an interesting road to pave. There is room to see this already being a critique of that character, though, and I think the series will prove to do so.

As for the art, this is another fantastic looking issue, especially given its dialogue-heavy nature. The shots that were chosen are impactful and engaging even when there isn’t much happening on the page. I feel like a few scenes are effected by a lack of space in the comic, but it isn’t anything debilitating at all.

With such a wordy issue, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou had the spotlight, and he shines, for the most part. One spot I really liked was a panel the perfectly demonstrated how individuals sound in a crowd. It was nicely done. 

Overall: This is a dense issue that is very close to being overfull, but the team as a whole pulled off another great issue. It also has a hairy chested piece of man beef on the last page. In other words, this comic is worth the $3.99. 7.5/10

No One’s Rose #3 - REVIEW

No One’s Rose #3
Writer: Emily Horn & Zac Thompson
Artist: Alberto Jimenez-Alburquerque 
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
A snarled black blight takes root within the Green Zone. Dissent eats away at the Eco-Utopia and time is in decay. As the city they call home descends into chaos, siblings Tenn and Seren are both confronted with a monumental choice. Tenn grows desperate to reshape the past, while Seren tries to usher in a new future. But neither consider the devastating cost of change.
Release Date: July 8, 2020
Buy It Digitally: No One’s Rose #3

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Keigen Rea is not working for at least the next five weeks. He does not know if that’s good for him. Find him @prince_organa trying to be relevant to any degree at all.