Archie Goodwin does this fantastic job setting up the story—a defected Soviet scientist is being pursued by the bad guys because they want to ransom her. Meanwhile, she doesn’t like being stuck in protected custody and dreams of getting free for even a night.
It’s a great setup and the character is really compelling. Then Goodwin reveals the bad guys are using a circus as a front and they’re traveling around the country grabbing people up.
A circus.
While Goodwin does keep enough of a pace one doesn’t exactly dwell on the circus detail, but it’s definitely present and definitely absurd.
Even though it does lead to a great finale involving a Ferris wheel.
While Goodwin’s dialogue’s good and his narration is nice and sparse, the draw is Al Williamson. It’s an exceedingly well-drawn comic strip. Williamson brings anxiety to ever panel, which works great for a thriller.
