Well, I loved Children's Crusade, and as much as I love this characters and was sad to see some of them go I don't think it was bad or lazy storytelling at all.

Plus, the art is gorgeous.

Also, I don't think the waiting time between issues was such a big deal on how the story was read. I've read it when it was being (slowly) published and then as a trade in one go. It is a good reading both ways.