Barr does an amazing job pacing out the narrative this issue. He opens with Gabe and Jennifer, but moves quickly to Lieutenant Bliss. She dominates the issue–the first time a supporting cast member was gotten a Maze spotlight–even when she’s off panel in the second act. Barr comes up with an amusing way of keeping her around then too.

And Bliss becomes so important to the issue, Barr doesn’t even save time to resolve Gabe and Jennifer’s subplot. He deals with it in a panel or two, second fiddle to the murder resolution.

The issue has fill-in art from Mike Okamoto, who has an odd set of problems. His figures don’t match in terms of size and the way he positions them almost feels like he’s gluing cutouts together. But he’s got some great facial expressions, which is very important in a dialogue-heavy book like Maze.

CREDITS

Too Much Bliss; writer, Mike W. Barr; penciller, Mike Okamoto; inkers, Mike Witherby and Rick Magyar; colorist, Susan Glod; letterer, Vickie Williams; editor, David Campiti; publisher, Innovation Publishing.