Claw, The Unconquered #3
	Story Title: 'The Conqueror' (Part 3) Writer: Chuck Dixon Artist: Andy Smith Colorist: Jonny Rench with Darlene Royer Letterer: Travis Lanham Cover by: Andy Smith & Randy Mayor Asst. Editor: Kristy Quinn Editor: Ben Abernathy Published by: Wildstorm Productions
	Reviewed by: Bruce Logan

Claw’s story and journey continue in this third issue’s of one of Wildstorm Productions’ three new swords n’ sorcery series (the other two being Rokkin and Skye Runner).

Starting just after the ending of the previous issue, the story picks up with not the real Claw but his ‘monstrous’ limb-twin (as in, the second Claw has grown up from the severed right hand of the original and his hence 100% monster and 0% man). Right away there is a fight scene in which every person, man, woman and child, of the village M-Claw (Monster Claw) is in, is slaughtered…all except one. A solitary female, this character (Dara) is rescued by the advancing forces of Bishop Guye Navarra and (as expected) rather than going to a place of safety, she ends up joining the Bishop. As to how come Dara is alive while everyone around her was hacked to pieces, as it turns out (towards the end), M-Claw has left her alive for a very specific reason, which unless it is a red-herring, is pretty clear in what it is.

Meanwhile, with the real Claw (Valcan Scaramax), he is continuing his journey with his three partners (the werewolf cousins - Vivardi, Mardak and Haxa), and is still in the dark about the reality of what they are. Still, he does have his suspicions, which are only strengthened when instead of paying the ferryman (to get them to cross the river) Mardak pays much over the stipulated amount…with gold. Emma Frost…sorry, the Witch Satarina also shows up, though only for a single panel.

As for the ending, even more so than the first two issues, it is the last page of this issue that seemed as a cliffhanger, for attention to his horse’s uneasiness around the bestial-trio (and his own doubts), Valcan finally does something about it…much to his bedmate, Vivardi’s chagrin and fear.

Conclusion: The build up continues and thankfully it is not ‘decompressed’ but at quite a fast pace.

RATING: 9/10