A legendary werewolf slayer is seriously injured. Her name's in the title, so there's no question that she's going to be okay, but she's going to have a hell of a time when she pulls through her injuries in the fourth issue of Lucy Claire: Redemption. Writer/Artist John Upchurch explores a little bit more of Lucy's world of darkness in a chapter that introduces a few more elements of horror and magic. Upchurch's art brings the story to the page dynamically in another entertaining excursion into a world that echoes a bit more of an homage to earlier work in the genre. 

Lucy Claire is on death's door. A mysterious little elderly lady seems to have saved her life, but Lucy is still in critical condition. The lady shows a bit about herself and her connection to Lucy before revealing a great connection to magic. In an act of self-sacrifice that keeps Lucy and company on the run from the werewolves. The life of Lucy is hopelessly complicated, though, and there are things far more sinister than werewolves that are also chasing after her. Danger pursues Lucy, and she's still recovering from the events of last issue. 

Upchurch treads a slow and steady pace through the issue. There's a familiarity with Lucy's world that draws from similar stories within the action-horror genre. The mysterious old woman's background treads a bit too closely to Whedon's Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, to come across as anything other than lazy storytelling. Thankfully, the deep background of the character isn't the central focus of the issue as Lucy's more immediate past is comes hunting for her. What started out as a world of werewolves is continuing to reveal other dark forces that make for a fun world to visit with Lucy. 

Upchurch's art this issue has a solid grasp of straight-ahead drama. There's nuanced sophistication in the face of the mysterious, old woman, which feels pretty vivid even though her face isn't terribly expressive. In addition to rendering sophisticated emotions on the faces of the characters, Upchurch manages the gloomy darkness of the mood with an impressive sense of atmosphere. Upchurch's real accomplishment, this issue, though, lies within the action. The dust-up with the Baki Twins near the issue's end has dizzyingly kinetic combat with a powerful punching it's way through panels that are jarred into odd angles in the impact. 

It's nice to know that Lucy Claire has a Buffy-like lineage of Werewolf hunters in her background, but the deep background of Lucy's world isn't where the strength of Upchurch's story lies. Lucy's personal journey and the paths of those who get pulled into her life are much more interesting than the background, cast as they are into a world of bewildering danger immersed in darkness. Focussed as it is on Lucy Claire and her friends and her recent checkered past, the fourth issue of the series plays to the series' strengths.

Grade: B+