Revival vol. 6: Thy Loyal Sons and Daughters

Vol. 5 was where this series finally started living up to its potential, leaving me actually looking forward to the next volume for the first time ever.  The good news is that vol. 6 keeps the excitement high as it starts off with an accounting of where everyone in Wausau is — both physically and mentally — after the reviver-instigated explosion at the town hall.  Things ramp up quickly as the new military officer, General Louise Cale, sent to contain the chaos instigates a manhunt for Blaine after his murder of May in the previous volume.  This is only one of several plot threads that writer Tim Seeley sets in motion that play out in high drama in the backwoods as most of the title’s cast come looking for the demonologist/exorcist/snowbike repairman who is now heading up a militia that believes he’s their chosen one.  By the time the dust has settled, a few people will have been shot, a couple will be dead, and one of the title’s biggest secrets will have found its way out into the open.

Yes, this is the volume where EVERYTHING CHANGES!  Starting with the power structure in the city, to the dynamic between the Cypress sisters, which morphs into an obliteration of their status quo within the story.  The relationship between Dana and Emily Cypress has always been key to this series, and even if the means by which it’s fleshed out here are somewhat heavy-handed, the actions of the sisters still spring from a believable place.  Expect lots of heartbreak, anger, and even a bit of redemption as well.  By the end of the volume, the Cypress sisters are in a much different place than where they began, but also a more interesting one with a clear purpose for the next arc.  Excellent work from Seeley in this regard, slightly less so from Norton as he begins this volume with a more exaggerated style that eventually settles down into his (better) usual one by the end of the volume.  I have to imagine this series is past its halfway point by now, so it’s good to see it getting really good as it goes along.