The fifth anniversary issue of SMT came and went without any celebration other than another fine issue of one of the best comics in the industry. The Cannon is another fine continuation of the Mystery Theatre tradition, this time the Sandman has to deal with Nazi supporters who are importing and selling stolen gold into America - but he has a little help this time. Reintroducing the Reverend "Bagsy" (aka the Cannon, who Wes and Dian met way back on their trip to England), this four act play also deals with a lot of spiritual issues that Wes and Dian have been avoiding over the past couple storylines.
It's funny how the "Mystery" aspect of SMT isn't as interesting as the "Theatre" aspect, in that I find what is going on in Wes and Dian's life often more important than the central story. I guess Wagner and Seagle have done their job if I now care about these characters. Also over the past couple of storylines, we've seen Matt Wagner's role whittled down into story ideas, instead of plot or co-writer. The Cannon is the final play that he's contributing to, going off to focus on Mage II. Of course, were at only a small loss as Steve Seagle has proven himself to be an excellent storyteller with his House of Secrets series, and I'm sure he is capable of maintaining the high level of stories that SMT demands.
SMT's regular artist, Guy Davis, was off doing an Aliens story over at Dark Horse during the Cannon, so Michael Lark and Richard Case (from Terminal City) jumped in and did a magnificent job, keeping the atmosphere and the characters consistent with Guy's rendering, but also keeping their own post-modern line-style which works really well with this type of pulp-story.
As always, SMT is highly recommended.