After pinch-hitting with a four page contribution to the second issue of Welcome Back, Claire Roe takes over as full-time series artist for the third issue of the hit series about reincarnated assassins in a multi-generational cat-and-mouse game. She joins writer Christopher Sebela and replaces co-creator Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, who sadly had to step down for personal reasons, but will continue as cover artist.

Originally launched as a four-issue series, Welcome Back has been extended to open ended status after the first issue went to a third printing (and the second issue to a second). That's great news for relative newcomer Roe, whose previous credits include Saltire at Diamondsteel Comics and a short story for Vertigo's SFX anthology, and great news for the readers who get to discover her crisp, kinetic artwork!

The success of Welcome Back probably owes a lot to a great high concept; the lead characters, Mali and Tessa, are assassins on opposite sides of a war who have been reincarnated so many times that neither of them really knows what they're fighting for, only that they still have to fight. They've crossed paths many times before, and as this exclusive preview of issue #3 begins, they've just crossed paths again. Don't expect a happy reunion.

 

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Here's the solicitation, courtesy of Boom:

 

Welcome Back #3
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Claire Roe
Cover Artist: Jonathan Brandon Sawyer
Format: 32 pages, full color
Price: $3.99
On sale: Nov. 18, 2015
Synopsis: Tessa arrives in Kansas City looking for Mali, but instead finds Lorena, Mali’s reincarnated stepfather, in the body of a 10-year-old girl who is also a Soldier and ready for battle!

 

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