Fletcher and Guy escape from the prison camp and head deep into Prussian territory. Fletcher is a flier, not a spy. Is he getting in over his head? Find out in Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines #3 from Image Comics!

ARROWSMITH: BEHIND ENEMY LINES #3

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Carlos Pacheco
Colorist: José Villarrubia
Letterer: Comicraft’s Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt
Editor: Kel Symons
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 23, 2022

Previously in Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines: Fletcher Arrowsmith is captured and taken to a Prussian prison camp, just as planned, except for the broken arm. Within Prussia, the civilians are concerned that whether they win or lose, unseelie forces will take over. Indeed, the Emperor does not want to talk with his military officers but sends them to the Advisors. A supernatural being tells them to send The Baron after an enemy agent, one of the modern fliers. As an officer, Fletcher’s stay in a prison camp is not too arduous. When his arm heals, he starts trying to find his contact. Then one day, the Black Baron arrives. He goads the fliers until one of them challenges him to a duel, and the Baron kills him. In the stunned aftermath, Fletcher’s contact reveals himself.

AN ESCAPE AND THE CASUALTIES

Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines #3 opens in the prison camp at night where he is waiting to talk with his contact and wondering about him. He also notices something underground making the earth ripple. The contact, Guy, arrives and tells him the tunneling creatures are likely kobolds. The mission plans Guy needs are in Fletcher’s orichalc chips, and the chips are with his dragonet. Guy realizes the Black Baron was probably trying to find him, likely alerted by the Crux agents. They must get out of the camp, but the original plan of being tunneled out by rock trolls has fallen through.

But Guy has another plan. Word spreads through the camp. The big night comes and Guy walks out into the yard. He makes a small gesture, and the wind rises, bringing rain with it. He gathers his power and earthquakes shake the camp apart. The airmen call for their dragonets, retrieve their orichalc chips, and away they fly.

Except for Guy and Fletcher who must head south, over land. As they prepare to leave, the Prussians attack the others with their dragons. The losses are tremendous, and Fletcher is shaken. He wants to go back and help. But Guy casts a spell to take them into the Outer Marches, the fringes of Fae lands. Fletcher has not been trained for this and becomes hopelessly distracted. Guy manages to keep Fletcher with him long enough to cast the exit spell.

Soon they meet a small group of people waiting for Guy. While most of them will cover their trail and slip away through the woods, a young woman named Erna leads them to a farmhouse where they can change their clothes and get some rest. Guy says he must check their perimeter. Erna talks with Fletcher. She is part of the resistance. Forced to work in a munitions plant, she sabotages them when she can. They share some schnapps. Guy does not come back and soon one thing leads to another…

WORLDS OF CONFLICT AND WONDER

What immediately caught my attention in the art of Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines #3 was the artwork. For a world full of magic, the images are rendered in a very realistic style which I think helps accentuate the magical moments. In the opening scene, the shadows are rendered with cross-hatching which gives the art a more classic feel, which feels appropriate for this story set during World War I. It is matched by the font used for Fletcher’s thoughts, which look more like handwriting, as though we are reading his memories of these events. All these pieces work so well together to build the atmosphere.

The opening action of the book takes place at night which gives terrific contrast to the attacks against the fliers from Albion. The bursts of dragonfire look like explosives going off high in the air. Shortly after that, in the space of one panel, everything changes from Prussian territory to the Outer Marches. The scenery becomes so bright and trippy we can understand Fletcher’s confusion. From panel to panel, we see a variety of strangeness and vivid colors. When we flip back to the normal world, the darkness seems all the more drab.

BOTTOM LINE: A TERRIFIC BALANCE OF HISTORY AND FANTASY

Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines #3 is well-written and beautifully drawn. The story is a tale of intrigue, and the fact that we cannot tell any better than Fletcher who can be trusted gives it great tension.

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