It’s the middle of the day when they attack the Vatican. It’s a squad of superhuman beings. Some of them look kind of demonic. Some of them ARE. There’s one of them with long, red hair. She has just demanded the release of Medieval Spawn. That might even be what she’s really looking for, but it’s difficult to tell in The Scorched #36. Writer John Layman continues a successful serial with the aid of artist Stephen Segovia and colorist Dinei Ribeiro. It’s an action sequence that alternates with some moments of relatively sedate drama. Tensions continue to build in another largely satisfying issue.

The Vatican is heavily guarded. Jess doesn’t expect one of the most heavily fortified structures on Earth to simply hand over someone they might see as a powerful threat. She and her allies are there for reasons that might not be all that obvious on the surface to anyone watching. That isn’t going to stop the media from speculating on the matter, though. Even in a world of darkness where suspicion casts itself over every shadow, the public is only going to know so much about what’s going on. With any luck, The Vatican might just be in the dark about Jess’ true intentions. 

Layman modulates the issue pretty well. The cascade of scenes gradually moves further ad further back in the chronology. It’s a sharp execution of information that gradually clues the reader into aspects of what it is that’s going on in the story. Jess’ internal monologue delivers some of it, but the issue is overall a bit of a strange patchwork of different things that are thrown at the reader from many different angles. It’s an interesting series of moments that play out  on the page, but it’s a bit difficult to tell quite precisely how well-written the issue is without getting a deeper understanding of where the story is going to be going in the issues that lie ahead.

Segovia doesn’t give the page the distinct feel of The Vatican. This is a real missed opportunity. It’s not too terribly often that a superhuman battle in the comics makes it to a place that’s quite that historic. The action IS delivered to the page with requisite intensity, but there isn’t nearly enough scenery around the edges of everything to really give the action a sense of place. That being said, there’s more than enough in the way of action to keep it all entertaining. 

Overall, the thirty-sixth issue of The Scorched definitely feels like it carries along the narrative quite well. Layman and company DO modulate action and drama quite well on the page in a way that feels quite well-manicured. It doesn’t feel like it stands-out very much from the long and winding history of the series and the Spawn Universe that it fits into. The thirty-sixth issue of the series DOES hold the potential to carry quite a bit of narrative weight, but it’s going to take time to see quite where it’s going as things progress.

Grade: B