zAh, a good old-fashioned subway fight. Not New York subway, Chicago subway. The setting should give Birthright some kind of distinction, but it doesn’t. In fact, there’s no distinct this issue, except maybe the first time I’ve seen Bressan rush through a scene so bad he loses his detail. The last seven or so pages feel like an entirely different artist, sort of aping Bressan’s style, but not really.

There’s also nothing special as far Williamson’s plotting. It’s sort of a bridging issue, but nothing happens. Just build-up for something later on, the good guys from Conan-land are going after Birthright’s “hero.” Hopefully his little big brother will stand up for him, but he’s asking questions too.

And the stuff with the mom and the now grown son’s pregnant girlfriend? The pregnant, flying warrior woman girlfriend? They get jumped by these bozo men in black guys. It’s really lame. It’s a weird issue.

I think I might be done with Birthright. I just can’t make the time.

Williamson surprises a little bit with this issue of Birthright because he positions the Conan character as sympathetic. Or at least inviting sympathy. There’s this flashback to when he was Kid Conan and coming into his own adventuring and all that fantasy nonsense and he’s a likable character. The gimmick of Birthright is two-fold. There’s that initial hook of doing a really solid modern fantasy thing and then the followup punch of having it all be an evil deceit.

After ramping up the secondary part of the gimmick for so long, Williamson lets the book be fun for an issue. Kid Conan rescues a kidnapped princess or something. She’s not a princess, but you get the idea. It’s neat. And Bressan’s art is awesome.

Bressan’s art this issue might be the best so far in the series. He does the fantasy stuff great, but he also does these modern-day, “real world” talking heads scenes great. His expressions are full of emotion. It makes the flashback narrative affecting. Good stuff.

And Williamson’s soft cliffhanger suggests it’s going to keep being entertaining. Birthright’s just the right amounts of smart, playful and fun.

As usual for Williamson–and easily the most frustrating thing about his writing–the issue reads too fast. This issue of Birthright is some female bonding and a lengthy fight sequence. At the end of the fight sequence comes a big surprise. And it’s a good big surprise, but it’s not good enough to forgive the issue taking place over five minutes.

Especially since Bressan is wasted on a slow fight scene. Bressan’s an imaginative artist and instead of letting him visualize cool things, this issue has him visualizing a scene out of an eighties fantasy action movie. Released by Cannon.

Speaking of which, as a compliment, Williamson and Bressan should search out a licensee for the property who’ll honor that eighties vibe.

I really like Birthright. It just never fully delivers. Maybe Williamson’s just writing for the trade (and the YA audience in book stores), which would be smart. It’s an incredibly accessible book and one with a wide range of potential reader.

It’s like Terminator 2. Birthright, at least this issue, reads like watching Terminator 2 for the first time. Well, parts of it; the really good action parts. Something about Bressan’s composition and the level of detail to figures in motion–the action scenes in the comic feel like a really well-executed movie action sequence.

It’s weird, since Birthright is a fantasy book. But it’s a fantasy setup put into an eighties action movie. Even the brother’s adventure (the little big brother) feels like an eighties action movie. These comparisons aren’t slights; Williamson’s writing a wonderful homage to that era and, more specifically, sentimentality to it.

It’s got to be intentional.

Anyway, at the same time, Williamson is building some other things (specifically the mom’s character as well as the complexities of the politics in the fantasy world). It works out. I still don’t like the cliffhangers, but good issue.

This issue of Birthright moves rather well. Williamson gets in a lot of busyness. Not much happens–Conan brings his little big brother to a first aid station after passing some possessed guys (possessed by creatures from the fantasy world). Then he has to fight them. And his flying girlfriend (who’s pregnant) has a run in with the FBI.

For the first time, I can also see Williamson’s track. I can’t see where he’s going, but you can see the track of how long Birthright’s supposed to run. We’re getting close to halfway. It’s nothing in the plotting as much as how Williamson treats the characters; the parents are subjects now, not active players.

After a lengthy action sequence with the flying girlfriend, Bressan starts slowing down in the rest of the book. I think it’s the first time he’s been overwhelmed on the series.

It’s a fine comic.