This issue follows the same dimension-of-the-week format of the previous two, with Llewellyn and Meaney navigating their jumpship to a brand-new alternate universe. This adventure opens right in the middle of an altercation with the locals, resulting in Llewellyn sustaining a painful injury. When our protagonists seek medical help, they run into what appears to be a familiar face, but is actually just the alternate-reality double of Meaney's girlfriend from his home universe. This leads Meaney to a crisis of conscience: follow the girlfriend lookalike, or stick with his friend and wait for Llew's surgery. Meanwhile, all is not as it seems in the operating room, as a twist in the medical procedure reveals our antagonists: body-stealing parasites that use the host's musculature and memories to their advantage. Before the mess gets resolved and Llew and Meaney can get on their way, there are a host of other twists that will keep you gripped and guessing.
In brief, it's a thoroughly entertaining self-contained plot that you can read through in maybe fifteen minutes. Meaney and Llewellyn still embody the familiar trope of the dumb nice guy and the witty cynic, but it's the way that they embody these tropes that makes it interesting. There are individualized quirks here and there, such as when Meaney's darker side comes to light, and it's pretty much just as light as the lighter side. Or when Llew delivers the following quip:
Yes: the writing is the same level of witty, humorous, slightly snarky adventure that you've come to expect if you've read this far through Jump Leads already.
The art is also what you've come to expect: sharp, stylized, dynamic artwork that goes the extra yard in technical details. The well-rendered technological elements and predominantly blue-and-silver color palette help to evoke and characterize the sci-fi metaverse that the protagonists travel through. Jump Leads artist JjAR sticks with his established style, which adds a consistent and professional feel to the work--unlike other webcomics, where you can see the artist's style developing over time. This isn't really a complaint, though. It's just to say that here, the artist started off strong. One especially nice touch is the rippled, distorted lettering to indicate Meaney's shivering and chattering teeth in this chilly scene. It works well with the atmospherics in that scene.
While I'm at it, I might as well review Issue #4, which is a humorously brief four-page dimensional hop wherein Llew and Meaney accidentally park their jumpship on a civilian's car. If you like Jump Leads, it's everything you like about Jump Leads in a tidy and amusing little package.
In short, these two installments of Jump Leads are well worth reading, especially for sci-fi enthusiasts and fans of quality artwork.
Jump Leads review: Issue #1
Jump Leads review: Issue #2
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