“Yesterday’s” Comic> Hardcase #14

“These are the best printed mylar balloons we’ve made yet!”

Hardcase #14

Malibu Comics/Ultraverse  (July, 1994)

“Transition”

WRITER: James Hudnall

PENCILER: Steve Carr

INKER: Dan Schaefer

COLORING: Moose Baumann & Foodhammer!

LETTERER: Patrick Owsley

EDITOR: Hank Kanalz

Tech calls Shadowmage in to see if Choice was kidnapped by magic. She confirms that it was magic from her world, but she’s being blocked from finding out who. They offer to help further but Hardcase decides to try things on his own first, going to his police friend Chuck for help, and then going to tell Linda what happened to her brain. What he isn’t aware of is that Hardwire and Rex Mundi are separately prepared to kill him, Mundi leaving some spy things in his house to allow his new…thing to study him, while Hardwire goes to his house just as Hardware leaves.

So in short, nothing really happens. I don’t know why Hardcase would refuse the help of probably the only person who can, Shadowmage, and the rest of the Solution. It’s not like this story is matching up to events in their own comic. (I still prefer the release order to the reading order list I was using.) It’s like they shoved in every subplot threat they have going in one shot without moving the story much. Also, what are the little shapeshifting envelope spy things Mundi calls “devices” made of if neither Tech nor Shadowmage can detect them during their scans?

In other words, it’s a short review because there isn’t much to talk about. I guess this could be a jumping on point if you weren’t worried about who all of these people are. If it wasn’t for Shadowmage confirming the magical kidnapping nothing of importance would happen in this otherwise skippable issue.