This time around Brian Churilla jumps aboard the title, doing finishing pencils over Tom Fowler’s layouts while Kat Howard continues to spin a tapestry of old and new for the young wizard to embark upon. Mystery and death seemingly wait behind every corner for Timothy Hunter as he must set aside his own life for the chance to find his missing friend. As the series carries forward, the team continues to do an excellent job of using old continuity while blending in their own additions and creating something familiar yet completely different from their predecessors.  

After the murder of a teacher is discovered along with the missing student, detectives set out on investigation across the school leading them to none other than Timothy Hunter. Unbeknownst to Tim, the police seem to have found a suspect in the young Merlin himself. While he journeys to a very familiar area looking high and low for his female companion, they make their way into the long thought forgotten realm of Faerie. Timothy comes across a face unfamiliar to him that older readers will undoubtedly recognize.

The magical pencil work of Tom Fowler is unfortunately absent for this issue but remain in spirit as he still puts his layouts on the chapter for Brian Churilla to finish with his own pencils. Overall the segment approximates the established look of the series, but some small differences are noticeable. The more cartoonish expressions of Fowler are missing from the issue and a little of its charm along with it. With a more quiet chapter this time around, Churilla give Fowler added time for what hopes to be a memorable journey through Faerie with the next issue.

Yet again Kat Howard can simply do no wrong. Continually adding her new elements to the mythos while blending in the previous continuity continues to be lucrative for the writer. With each new chapter, another mystery or twist on established expectations adds to the series as a whole leaving fans excited for more. With some darker undertones at times, Howard can deliver a story for new readers to jump on with while providing the subtle fan service to the older readers simultaneously.

With the next issue to be set within the land of Faerie, elements of the previous runs are sure to come into play at long last. As new mysteries continue to blossom, the young wizard will stake his claim as the future Merlin and prove to be the greatest wizard of his time.

Grade: A