Satisfying Close
The Good:
This issue is action packed. From start to finish there are over-the-top fights going on which Tradd Moore's art really shines. Throughout this series Moore's art has been consistent and given this book a really nice look. I think it looks best in this issue with all the fighting occurring, it feels nice to look at. This issue closes the first arc and did a good job with it. There is an all-out fight between Zabo's men & the Cartel, just to get to Guero's crew and serve their own "justice". When Robbie steps in is when things really get going. Robbie's conscious telling him how to deliver justice in the way of truly changing the community for the better as his teacher told him or Eli's way of just burning everything down makes for great scenes in this issue because you can see just how conflicted he is in how he wants to handle this situation where these people have endangered not only his brother's life, but an entire neighborhood. Another story aspect that I'm enjoying is how Robbie does not fully understand that he is the Ghost Rider, which will make for a great story when he confronts Eli about it or when Johnny Blaze shows up.
The Bad:
There were only a few gripes I had with this issue. There is a cheesy line, where McCallum says "I'm a machine, I'm a ---- SUPERIOR...ALPHA DOG MACHINE!" and it just falls flat. There's a part here where a school bus full of kids crashes and Guero's crew tries to help them. Although it is nice to see these guys aren't complete scumbags for a moment, it is hard to believe they would do something like this considering they were harassing Gabe for being in a wheelchair in issue 1 and were dealing with the cartel in followup issues. It just seems like inconsistent characterization, and after that they are still taunting Gabe even though he tried to save them from Zabo's men. A small disappointment I had here is that there is no big showdown between Robbie and Zabo. However the issue was already action packed, and what does happen to Zabo works in my opinion.
Verdict:
Overall a great issue with plenty of action from start to finish. Tradd Moore is at his best here and Felipe Smith has planted some seeds which has me interested in what direction this series is going. I thoroughly enjoyed the first arc and this is a satisfying close.