What’s the Furthest Place From Here? vol. 3: Born Under Punches

Vol. 2 of this series decided to take a more difficult path as it traced the struggles of multiple characters doing a lot of different things, rather than the focused group activity of the Academy kids in vol. 1.  That’s what it looks like vol. 3 will be doing as it picks up again with the title’s favorite wayward daughter, Sid, and her ongoing adventures through this fractured world.  We’ll see them take her farther (and higher) than any of her friends in the Academy have ever been before, while the rest of them continue to muddle through things as best they can.  Who knows, maybe they’ll even manage to muddle their way into saving a friend or two along the way.

With that in mind, vol. 3 does a lot of jumping around between the various groups of kids we’ve come to know over the first two volumes.  I was concerned that it was going to dissipate the title’s momentum even further, but that thankfully doesn’t turn out to be the case here as the kids’ journeys – Sid’s being the most notable here – take us to some pretty interesting places.  We even get some payoff here to some of the questions and setups that have been kicking around since the first volume, which is great as it implies creators Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss do have a plan for where this story is going to go and aren’t just coasting on vibes.  Which become creepier and more intense here as this volume goes on.

I’m fine with that, but I’m more pleased to see everything coming together here.  Particularly since the end of vol. 3 implies that things might be wrapping up soon.  Not before vol. 4 promises to resolve the biggest question I’ve had about this series so far:  Why haven’t they collected every issue published yet in these volumes so far?