Mystik U #3 Review

School's Out

Written by: Alisa Kwitney
Art by: Mike Norton and Jordie Bellaire
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: March 28, 2018

It's the final issue of Mystik U and while the big push will be to see who is the Big Bad and if that dark future we saw at the beginning of the series, I want to see a little more.  I think that Alisa Kwitney has done a good job introducing some pretty cool characters and I want to see if they can somehow survive this story and maybe even move on to something else.  I know it probably won't happen but a man can dream, right?  All that aside, was this a good ending?  Let's find out...

The issue opens with a crazy scene with Dr. Psychic having a dream of zombies, doubts, and very odd meals.  It all leads back to the House of Secrets where Sargon and Enchantress have gone for help.

If you don't remember, Zatanna was knocked out (killed?) by Faust last issue and then we find out that Sebastian did kill her.  What a tweest!  It doesn't last long, though, as Pia brings her back.  You see, she was only mostly dead!  However, things don't seem quite right.

We then head off to the House of Secrets for dinner and while the heavy hitters of the DCU Dark Universe argue about The Malevolence, they also seem to eat plop and get ready to start with the murdering of kids.  Yea, it's one of those parties!  It all just leads to the confirmation that Richard Occult is also one of the bad guys who must be dealt with eventually.

We continue with Faust talking to Pia and spelling it out to her...she isn't a healer, she is a necromancer.  Just to put an exclamation point on it all, Sebastian forces Pia to raise an army of the undead, you know, for shits and giggles.  It actually has a point to it...Pia must free Zatanna from all this before it's too late.

We then head off and see Madame Xanadu get Rose back in the game and while that means that Richard is out, he has put a plan in motion that he thinks will win the day...again by murdering kids!  This time with their final examinations.

We quickly move on to the tests and the first one leads the gang to Hell and Sebastian's Guardian Demon, Nebiros.  It seems that they have to pick someone to die to escape and that's not all...Nebiros tells them all about why they are there in the first place.  I have to admit, they take it in stride.  That is until Zatanna freaks out that she is kind of undead, but that sort of thing is bound to get you a bit nervous and jerky, right?  Of course, Nebiros hints this may be a monkey paw situation, but really, a pact with a demon without one would be utterly disappointing!

The kids move on to the next test, but Pia isn't fond of being told that she is a monster and ends it right then and there...or does she?  It all leads to the big reveal that isn't that surprising and the end battle that was a one for all affair that I liked. 

We get a bit of an epilogue as well as the kids head home for Winter Break (yea, never as fun as Spring Break, but the eating is always good!) and while I would have liked a bit more of an Animal House ending (I hope nobody became an aide for Nixon!), we do end with a motorcycle riding cliffhanger.  I guess it will have to do.

This issue felt a bit rushed at times, but it was a story originally made for an ongoing forced into a three issue prestige book so I can understand that.  The biggest problem is that it just seems to end because of page count and so the ending is very lackluster and just kind of happens.  I liked the art in this issue and the entire series and reading it, I just wish we would have gotten the full deal.  Alisa Kwitney gives us enough to make me want more, even though I doubt we will ever get it.

Bits and Pieces:

In spite of the history and nature of this story, this was a decent mini-series that may have felt rushed and forced at times but still made me smile at points.  With the proper time to grow and develop, this may have been really good, but as it is, it was a quirky book that tapped into the dark side of the DCU while also feeling like a comic book equivalent to Harry Potter.  If those two things are your bag, check it out.

6.8/10