Wow. A sudden interruption in the action as we get five issues worth of backstory on five characters. It's insightful and interesting, it informs the present, and Lemire gets plugging away on the present day a few pages at a time, to ensure we don't lose track of where we are. 
 This is the sort of innovative storytelling that Lemire is great at, and it comes across well here. It's the sort of book that makes you want to go back and read what came before, now that you're better informed.