It's too bad that the strip-club setting of "Voodoo" #1 went over like a lead balloon with readers, because the three issues that have followed it have turned the book into a fun little thriller of a comic. Ron Marz is set to depart after next month's installment, but for now, "Voodoo" is overall an enjoyable experience.

"Voodoo" #4 is a breaking-and-entering story, with Voodoo infiltrating the government agency that's trying to track her down. It's a tried and true plot, one that gets much more interesting thanks to Voodoo's ability to change her shape. And for the most part, Marz gives us a strong script; Voodoo uses her powers to great effect, hopping, hiding, and brazenly walking in the open to get to the files that she desires. It's a sequence that he's clearly thought through, letting her use each of her powers to get through a bad situation.

At the same time, Agent Fallon reports in to her boss on what they know about Voodoo so far. It's a good information dump, one that doesn't feel forced and in fact connects well with Voodoo's current actions. Up until about the two-thirds point, it's hitting all of its marks with ease.

Unfortunately, it feels almost like Marz couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for how Voodoo can temporarily get caught (in order to then give us a direct conflict between the government and Voodoo), which means that we end up with a thoroughly stupid mistake on Voodoo's part to get that final part of the issue rolling. It's so out of character for someone who spent everything up until that moment moving through with such care that it's a jarring point in the script, and it temporarily throws you out of the story. Still, once "Voodoo" #4 gets past that moment, the script recovers nicely and the escape sequence is once more well-written and fun to read.

Some of that fun comes from Sami Basri's clean, smooth art. I like that Basri's able to hit whatever the script needs; tight action one moment, seductive scenes the next. And when Fallon starts chasing after Voodoo? It's a scene that works because of the art; the slipping from one form to the next feels graceful and sneaky, and it makes the conclusion work that much better. I'm glad that, with a creative shuffle around the corner, it looks like Basri will still be on board.

"Voodoo" is a fun comic, and I'm enjoying Marz and Basri's run together. Hopefully with the "new direction" (and new writer) arriving with "Voodoo" #6, it won't lose too much of the elements that make it an entertaining comic. Until then, though, I'm determined to sit back and enjoy the ride. We've still got one more issue from Marz and Basri together, after all.