Without the, arguably necessary, jump to the Pacific theatre of previous volume this has a much more centred and logical feel. But without the shocks of the last book this maybe feels a little too safe. Even the big eye opener doesn’t have as much impact as it should and we will have to wait till volume four to learn more of what that revelation holds.

Gillen does an excellent job of being authentic and well researched and, although minimised, the textbook-style piles on the weight of semi-realism. But we are in danger of getting too bogged down in dates and model numbers. Without the novelty of the initial volume or the diversity of the second here is where the hard work begins to sustain the juggernaut that is Uber. When your characters are entire nations and the whole world is quite literally your stage things either get too detailed and slow to a crawl or feel too cursory.

The art is great with the light from halos and explosions being a colourist’s best friend. The covers in particular are always dramatic in terms of design or spectacle.

Gillen had bitten off an awful lot with this project. But it’s still a Thumbs Up!