November, 1987 (22 Pages) Cover Artist: Tom Morgan Writer: Gerry Conway Penciler: Tom Morgan Inker: Vince Colletta Letterer: Pat Brosseau Colorist: Petra Scotese Editor: Howard Mackie Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Fleeing the Justice Department (see JUSTICE #12), Tensen hires himself out as muscle to Reggie Wyschoff, the owner of a club in Los Angeles, to learn more about the world and to ‘lay low.’

Everything is fine until Justice sees a drug deal in progress. The dealer tries to escape only to run into Justice’s shields as the customer takes the drug. The drug turns the customer into a raving lunatic with increased strength and endurance who babbles inconsistently. Struggling with the man is useless and finally Justice uses his sword hand to put the man down.

Interrogating the dealer, Justice learns he recieved the drug from Peter Markham, the son of a nortorious drug dealer. The police then arrive on the scene. They move to arrest Justice only to have Reggie vouch for him and the club’s customers say that he defended them from the now-dead raving lunatic. Reggie sends him home, to a house where the rent free as long as he works for him.

Meanwhile, off the coast of Catalina, Damon and Becky are discussing current matters, especially Justice. It is evident that Becky and Damon have become lovers at this point and are about to embark on a romantic encounter when a hireling approaches and tells him of the current matter with the Markham family.

Justice seeks out the Markham family to discuss the pill which the lunatic customer from earlier dropped. He tosses it onto the table and Markham Sr. gets up to talk with Justice.

One of Markham’s many women, a girl named Suzie, grabs the pill and disappears into a changing tent to take it. As Justice and Markham are talking, a bloodcurdling scream grabs their attention as Suzie goes berserk with a knife in hand, killing two people before attacking Justice and Markham Sr. Justice defeats her with his shield, pushing her into the pool and turns to see that Markham Sr. is dead, his son barely breathing.

A figure walks away, aura black as death. Justice chases after him, trying to stop him with a shield only to have the strange man glance at him and rebound it back. The man’s shadow is demonic in shape, and he transforms into his true form, the Cacodemon known as Maximus Argath.

For once Justice is actually afraid and tries his best not to scream. The battle goes poorly, his sword arm not affecting the creature and the Cacodemon’s blast shattering his shields. Justice looks down and sees the demon’s shadow is that of a man, and pieces it together, blasting the shadow and thusly killing the Cacodemon.

He returns to find Peter Markham threatening him with a gun, blaming his father’s death on him. Justice tells him the truth and he drops the gun, dropping to his knees crying.

A merely average issue in terms of story and art, although one that shows Justice's war against both human and alien criminals at a crossroads, with a fairly unoriginal enemy in the form of Maximus Argath, the Cacodemon. Justice does dispose of him in a novel way, however, and for that reason the story is saved. However it's never totally explained what kind of drugs the people were given (although it reeks of Darquill's influence), but I suppose that could've opened up a whole other can of worms. A special note here: the artwork in this issue was originally credited as being by Keith Giffen, but the style does not match (compare to #s 9 through 11). Therefore, upon close inspection, I matched the art to the style of Tom Morgan, who also drew the cover. An amusing, albeit average, issue. Rating: 3 Bolts (out of 5)

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