First off, I read Wayward issues #1-5 last night all in a row, and I want to say how much better it all read in one sitting. Not to say I wasn't enjoying the series already as a month-to-month read, because I was, but I almost envy the folks who will be reading it first in trade.
Okay, with that out of the way, #6 takes a dramatic turn away from Rori Lane and her adventures to focus on series' newcomer Ohara Emi, who we met back in issue #1 but didn't realize it at the time. Emi is your typical Japanese girl living the typical Japanese girl's life with everything already planned out in front of her. Understandably, she's not all that happy about her lot, but what can you do?
As we're taken through the monotony of Emi's daily life, we learn that it's been three months since Rori and Shirai have disappeared, and the rumor at the school is that the two teens fell in love and blew up Rori's apartment complex to be together. The thought of it intrigues Emi, but also inexplicably unnerves her. This leads to a series of strange events circling the girl over the next couple of days, including various melting items and a dream (or was it...?) involving Rori visiting Emi's house, and eventually culminates in two kitsune spirits (calling themselves "foxfires") giving chase. Emi blindly flees, giving us a better glimpse of her apparent powers, before she soon finds herself in a junkyard, wherein Ayane and Nikaido come to her (violent) rescue.
Later that night in Shinjuku, an unknown "messenger" pays a visit to what is presumably a spider-demon-woman of some sort. How she will factor into the story, however, remains to be seen, because that's where this month's story draws to a close.
I enjoyed this issue a lot, partially because I was fresh off of my reread of the series last night, I'm sure. Still, it moves right along, something I've liked about Wayward since the beginning. On a slightly more personal note, though, Emi's life in particular spoke especially well to me, as I've fallen into a bit of a rut myself over the past couple of years. Very clever, too, how this wasn't truly Emi's first appearance. In retrospect, it's quite obvious in the first issue that her eventual introduction was planned from the start. The art is simply too deliberate.
And speaking of the art, it remains a highlight of the series. A lot of the comic books I read these days hinge on the quality of the writing almost exclusively, but I can honestly say that's not the case here. Cummings and Bonvillain are as important to this title as Zub is, and I imagine in the minds of a lot of readers, they're perhaps even more important. It's disappointing to have to occasionally wait three months for a new issue, granted, but for the consistency of this level of detail, I'll happily do it. Cummings is great at his craft, capturing poses, expressions, backgrounds (especially his backgrounds), and even some mock manga panels in this issue just perfectly. Likewise, Bonvillain's colors are equally phenomenal, enhancing Cummings's linework without ever oversaturating it. As far as colorists go, she's right up there with Matt Hollingsworth in my book.
Finally, another interesting back-up from Zack Davisson, although I'm pretty well-versed in more traditional Japanese customs and history, so it wasn't as insightful for me as his past, more supernaturally themed entries have been. Still, though, it's a great feature, and makes the experience that much more fulfilling.
All in all, another great issue in my estimation. Wayward remains one of the top books I'm currently reading. If you're an old reader who's sitting on the fence after the first arc, I'd recommend checking #6 out before completely throwing in the towel. The new direction does a good job of shaking things up a bit and building some fresh intrigue quickly. And if you're a new reader, then this is obviously a great jumping-on point, because if you like what you read here, the trade is also available today for you to get all caught up.