Leave It To Chance, Vol. 3: Monster Madness (Fall 2003)

The city of Devil's Echo is as you would expect of a town saddled with such a portentous name -- lousy with magic. So many arcane happenings pop up to threaten the populace that Devil's Echo has its own supernatural protector, Lucas Falconer, the latest in a long line of heroic Falconers who have stood between Devil's Echo and mystical ruin. But ''Leave It to Chance'' is really about Lucas' daughter, Chance, a motherless child nudging against womanhood who finds adventure in -- considering where she lives -- the likeliest of places. Writer James Robinson (''Starman'') and artist Paul Smith have taken the essences of Nancy Drew, Harry Potter, and Buffy and brewed a rare elixir: a mature book for children. If anyone's wondering how to get kids to read comics again, the answer is simple: Make them this good.