Editor's Note: The Order #9 arrives in stores tomorrow, March 19.

"9: Dennis -- Or -- Bad Moon Rising"

With this penultimate issue, The Order starts its run down the home stretch, as Matt Fraction begins to tie almost every subplot since the start of the series into one final climactic showdown between the Los Angeles super-team and their enemies.

Despite a strong start, I feel like The Order never really found its niche in Marvel's post-Civil War publishing plans. Not enough people showed interest in the book at the start - possibly because it didn't feature big-name characters and didn't conform to standard superhero tropes - and it feels as though Marvel tried to address that by moving the book in a more traditional direction over the last few issues. However, in doing so, it feels like they've lost a little of what made the book attractive to its audience in the first place: we've had less of the in-depth characterisation and unique challenges for the team that Fraction provided in the first five or six issues, and more of the kind of straightforward and linear team superheroics that you can find in any number of other superhero team books.

That said, there are still little touches of greatness which shine through, whether it's in the characterisation (Dennis, a.k.a. Heavy, gets the chance to shine as a military leader this issue) or the wacky concepts with which Fraction peppers the story: I love the amalgamation of Becky and Milo into one single hybrid entity, and the line about flying superheroes having to follow highways raised a smile for me. Still, I can't shake the feeling that, in terms of the overall plot, this wasn't really the original plan that Fraction had for the book. After the more character-based opening issues, it just feels as though the book has been coerced into being something that isn't as attractive or unique as the title was in its earlier issues.

When the issue's villain says "Bye, Order. You were a bad idea from the word go and I'm happy to be the one to end you," it's impossible not to read the line as being tinged with Fraction's own regret at the fate of the series. The knowledge that the book is coming to an end has inevitably hung over the last few issues, and whilst I freely acknowledge that my lukewarm reaction to them might be as much a symptom of my own disappointment at the series' untimely demise as anything else, it feels like Fraction's heart hasn't quite been in it for the last couple of months.

One element which hasn't suffered is the artwork. I particularly enjoyed the opening interview segment, which takes the visual idea of a disabled character blinking in response to his questions and makes it work very effectively - particularly when Dennis wants to give a more forceful answer, and screws up his face tightly. Elsewhere, the superhero action is depicted clearly and attractively, and even though original series penciller Barry Kitson is now only providing breakdowns, the artwork still carries the same flavour as it did in the earlier issues. That said, I'm not sure what happened to the final pages, because there's a dramatic shift into a very different, more cartoonish style, which doesn't suit the book so well. Hopefully this is a minor anomaly, and isn't indicative of what the final issue of the book will look like.

The issue ends with a cliffhanger which I'm keen to see resolved, but I can't help but wonder whether Fraction will go for the easy option of having The Order's occasional guest-star Iron Man show up to save the day - particularly as that's a character who looms large in the writer's future at the moment. Still, at least Fraction is going to be able to wrap the series up on his own terms, rather than having the book unceremoniously pulled out from under him.

Whilst it doesn't feel like it's hitting the same heights that it did during the first half of its ten-issue run, The Order is still a better-than-average superhero book - but in a saturated marketplace, that just might not be good enough.

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