VIRUS

A team of gamers undertake a desperate mission to shut down an immersive video game before it kills any more contestants.

Having earned the “Elite Gamer” status in Gamer (2024) and then escaped from the literally deadly world of Virtual Kombat, Scott is well qualified to hook up with the VK Rebellion and lead a squad of hackers back into the virtual arena to plant a destructive virus. The running battle takes the team through various traps, ambushes, and violent displays of martial artistry with old foes and new in scenarios ranging from a “Wild West” setting to a generic “Shinto shrine” before climaxing in a face-off against the game’s evil owner on the “Last Level.” Featuring geometric spot-art images of attack drones and bladed weapons, this all-action U.K. import is written in staccato prose, presented in short, spaced-out sentences and paragraphs. The cast consists of stock types; the villain and his rebellion-leading, wheelchair-using twin brother are the only grown-ups in sight. Like the opener, this episode ends with a twist that will have readers curious about picking up the next volume. Physical descriptions are minimal; characters are cued white.

An uncomplicated beat down, violent if not particularly suspenseful.