The third issue of Canary opens with another flashback to Holt’s past and the immediate, horrific aftermath of his encounter with the vile, potentially supernatural killer, Hyrum Tell.

The scene features a blistering exchange between Holt and his slimy boss, with Holt being determined to inform the families of the dead what really happened to them and his boss, Crenshaw, arguing otherwise.

It’s a masterful piece of writing from Scott Snyder, bolstered by Dan Panosian’s superb art and clever colours, giving the sequence a lurid ambience that contrasts with the dusty colour scheme found in the scenes set in the present day.

And that’s just the beginning.

Holt, Edwards and Mabel are heading for the mine, but they aren’t going to be welcomed with open arms.

Chances are, they aren’t going to like what they find either.

Even after that excellent opening scene that I had to immediately and excitedly babble about this issue continues very strongly, with some incredibly smart foreshadowing about just where things are headed and a chilling cliffhanger to boot.

It seems like Canary has, pun intended, flown under the radar. It deserves a much wider audience on the strength of its first three issues, and I have faith that Snyder and Panosian can keep the quality up as we head into the second half of the series.