I am not a fan of that as a splash page. It seems really stupid. But it doesn't stay that bad the whole time. In fact, compared to many of the MERC issues of late, it got much better over the comic. Now - that isn't saying a lot for this issue - it's criticizing some of the other issues lately. The issue had the feel of Godfather III - for a few reasons. The church connection - and the nature of the corrupt church. Also, the finding of the essence of good within evil. But the closest comparison is that it had many of the pieces of an excellent book - the on the run - the change - the art. But all of the pieces didn't fit to form something great.