What? You have got to be kidding. Let me get this straight. Irina and Ms. Daramount are sisters? Those are the reactions I yelled out loud to myself while reading this dark, supernatural and mysterious story.

This issue of Morning Glories is focused solely on Irina, the beautiful but extremely dangerous rifle-toting leader of the Truants. She was taught aggression and assassin skills at an early age by her mother, a woman who appeared to be mentally unstable. Irina’s childhood training included the killing of five men, hired by her mother to rape and kill Irina, without her weapons because her mother removed them prior to the attack.

The story also introduces Mr. N., a teacher at Morning Glory Academy. Mr. N. told Irina that his name is difficult for most tongues to pronounce. At the moment I don’t know what he means by that, but my mind is already set to not trust him. Mr. N. mostly works off-campus as he helps those students that require a direct focus curriculum. In other words, he works with gifted students. He cooks Irina a hearty breakfast, and as they begin to eat he tells her that he’s surprised she didn’t try to kill him. “First I eat, then I kill you” was her response. Of course I laughed out loud at those two panels. I especially like the scenes after Irina finished eating. I’m not giving spoilers, you have to buy and read the story for yourself.

For those that don’t already know, Morning Glories is a dark, horror, supernatural and mysterious series published by Image. All of the students that attend Morning Glory Academy, a prestigious boarding school, share the same birthday. Parents are instructed to cease ALL communication with their child once they leave for the school. Those that don’t heed the school’s warning suffer deadly consequences. The school harbors dark secrets, staff tortures the students, and there is a ghost named David that lurks the hallways.

I am still enjoying this title. Nick Spencer is the writer of this dark, confusing and mysterious series. Dialogue is always at its’ best and leaves you craving for more.

The creative art team includes Joe Eisma (art), Rodin Esquejo (cover), Paul Little (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) and Tim Daniel (design). I have nothing but high praises for this team and they all deserve a round of applause. This may be Eisma’s best issue yet. The characters are lifelike with an enormous amount of attention to detail, especially facial expressions and body posturing. You can even see the lines on Irina’s cheeks while she is chewing her food. The fight scenes are awesome. Remember this is Irina we’re dealing with in this issue, so you know the majority of the story would involve violence. Of course I loved every minute of it as Irina is one of my favorite characters in this series.

At the end of the story you will find a condensed version of Study Hall by Matthew Meylikhov. Also at the back of the book is Morning Glory Babies strip by Meylikhov and Eisma. Speaking of Study Hall, don’t forget to head over to Multiversity Comics for the detailed study session of this issue.

There is no doubt that I am going to continue to read this title. If I had to reduce the number of comics I read every month, Morning Glories would definitely be far away from the chopping block.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

I highly recommend this title.