The Occultist #3 is the halfway point in the series written by Mike Richardson and Tim Seeley telling the story of Rob Bailey, a college student with the utmost important task of wielding the Sword, an ancient book with incredible magical powers that has bound itself to him. Now he’s unwittingly caught up in a plan by a technomancer to take the Sword from him and he’s no longer handling his responsibilities as the Occultist and is instead using his powers to engage in otherworldly pleasures with Luka and her friends. However traveling to the Gates of the Realm of the Dead does have consequences and he will soon found out that his duties shouldn’t be taken lightly when he breaks the pact between the living and the dead. Meanwhile, Anna is still searching for him and when she goes to see his mentor not knowing he’s a technomancer trying to deceive the Occultist, she comes across a trail of blood that leads her to discover something is very wrong. She would warn the Occultist but the problem is she doesn’t know where he is. Can Anna locate him in time before things get even worse or has he already gone too far?

The series has been relatively interesting especially with the technomancer’s plot being put into motion to ensnare the Occultist. Even though it seemed as if the Occultist became too trusting of those who he didn’t know so easily there was the relationship angle with Luka that could explain most of it happening so fast. Since this was explored in issue #2, and in a much better way because of Anna’s hospital visit, it felt like it was being dragged out slightly here with just more pleasure trips to the gate. So in this issue Anna’s actions were more entertaining than the Occultist because she was the one uncovering the fact that there was a sinister plot set in motion. The action was good and complemented the writing very well when the plot was revealed to Anna and during her escape, and the artwork captured the scenes just right. My only issue here, and it’s not giving away any spoilers, is the use of a Ouija board. It’s not just that it’s overdone at times because it can work in a few occasions to demonstrate a lack of control over supernatural occurrences, but when just about any magical item can be used the choice of a Ouija board lessens the impact to me. But overall her sequences carried this issue. Of course other parts of this issue down the line can be revealed to have had more significance but when the consequences are finally shown it’s actually worth the wait because of the potential for the rest of the series.

SUMMARY

The Occultist #3 is a decent issue serving as a bridge for the rest of the series now that the plot has been revealed and the next phase set in motion. Anna’s activities in this issue are the real driving force here and even though the actions of the Occultist are believable in the sense that he’s susceptible to plot and fell in love quickly, it felt like this was explored in issue #2. However I am looking forward to how things unfold now that the pact between the living and the dead has been broken by the one who was supposed to protect it.