Volume 54

It is easy, judging only by the number in the title, to mistake this volume for a random pick from some larger collection; in fact it is the opening of a carefully structured side story. "Hollow" runs parallel to, and outside, the main "Olympus" arc, dedicated to the most lingeringly unresolved character thread from the show's ending—Tess Mercer. She returns as a digital consciousness: not a ghost, not a resurrection, but an awkward "in-between state"—possessing all her memories and clearances, yet without a body, without an identity, without even the right to wear clothes. Brian Q. Miller layers this awkwardness with great nuance; Hamilton's proposed "uniform" and the question of whether she dreams in standby are gentle inquiries into "what makes a person a person," not sermons. Visually, Beni Lobel's linework is clean, the cold light of the Watchtower contrasting with the oppressive feel of the LexCorp building, and the group shots give Black Canary and Speedy ample room to shine. The most powerful stroke in this volume is Tess watching her own brother being mobbed on the monitor as the system pops up "Dial 911?" and she calmly chooses "No." That refusal is both accumulated grievance and an obsession she has not yet let go of—precisely the starting point of the entire side story. For readers who finished all ten seasons and want to see what became of these supporting characters, this volume is an unskippable link; yet it also stands on its own, because it compresses conflict, suspense, and character motivation into just over twenty pages.