The Sundog Convoy faces their biggest challenge in Nocterra #11, by writer Scott Synder, artist Tony S. Daniel, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letters by Andworld Design. This one seems a little cliche at times, but it ends up being more than the sum of its parts.

This one picks up where the last left off, with the Sundogs in battle against the Nocturnes and Piper’s release of the Megas changing the course of the debacle. As things are looking at their best, a not unsurprising betrayal changes the whole game, leading to a sacrifice that will change the Sundogs forever and set things on a new path.

In a lot of ways, Snyder appears to be painting by numbers with this issue. There are a few big moments in the comic, some of which feel like they were coming from a mile away and others that don’t. However, as with all things, the way they’re executed is often just as important as if a reader can foresee them. Being predictable isn’t the worst sin a comic can commit because the medium’s storytelling tropes are all rather predictable; being predictable and trite is. It’s something that a lot of modern comics make the mistake of being. They play to the tropes without finding interesting ways to make them work.

Snyder is a much better writer than all of that. While the twists of this issue aren’t exactly revolutionary, and some of them are quite predictable, the fact that he does such a great job writing them is what makes them work. There’s nothing trite about the way he writes this book, and it sets the story in an entirely new direction that will definitely make the whole thing much more interesting than it was before. He’s able to throw in one very important character change, something that has been brewing this whole story arc. It’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes in the book’s future.

Daniel and Maiolo do some amazing work in this issue. The comic starts out with an extended action scene and just gets better from there. As good as the action in the beginning looks, it’s the later character-heavy stuff that really works. Daniel’s linework can be rather simple, which extends to his character acting, but here it works very well, getting across the gravity of the scenes. Fans also get their first good look at the Megas, something which definitely doesn’t disappoint. Maiolo’s colors do a lot of heavy lifting as well, really helping Daniel set the scene.

Nocterra #11 proves good writing can make all the difference. The surprises in this issue are telegraphed from a mile away, but they work so well because Synder is that good of a writer. Daniel and Maiolo once again prove why they’re such an amazing art team, capturing the action and the pathos expertly.

Grade: A-