Last Sons of America #2
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Matthew Dow Smith
A biological terrorist weapon has made it impossible for Americans to conceive and those that want children must adopt from other countries. Julian and Jackie are brothers who work as adoption agents in Nicaragua. When competing agencies make them desperate, they turn to kidnapping in order to satisfy their clientele demand; unfortunately the girl they chose is the daughter of Nicaragua’s most dangerous drug lord.
Last Sons of America is such a cool book with a great story; the main characters are relatable and layered, and this issue starts out with them in quite a harrowing predicament; the bad guys are right at their door and their backs are up against the wall. The book does have an abrupt shift in tone halfway through the book where things go from tense and stressful to some fun moments between Jackie and the captive Sara, but the lighter moments are so great that it kind of alleviates the jarring tonal change. The ending is a cliffhanger, and it successfully had me clamoring for the next issue.
Matthew Dow Smith, fresh off his excellent work with IDW Publishing’s The X-Files: Season 10 does another fantastic job with this issue; his art is stylish and his choices in lighting and detail really sell the danger and tension within the story. Philip Kennedy Johnson’s dialogue is sharp and witty, and his characters have personality. I definitely recommend this book, it just keeps getting better and better.
The Verdict – 9.0/10
Welcome Back #4
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Claire Roe
In Welcome Back, Mali and Tessa are soldiers in a seemingly endless war; they hunt each other, they kill each other, and then they’re reborn to repeat the cycle. Mali awakens in her latest life and begins to question the point of this eternal struggle while Tessa awakens and immediately pursues Mali.
I’m digging Welcome Back, for the most part. I feel like they’re a little too vague about what this ‘war’ is, and who are involved but this issue did give more answers about the relationship between Mali and Tessa. There were hints in the previous issues about the true nature of their bond, but the reveal was a bit abrupt and it felt out of place. Tessa is an awesome villain, she has a Terminator-esque quality to her where she’s driven to carry out her mission against Mali, so her actions in this issue felt a bit off and forced.
The art is great, Claire Roe does a great job visually telling the story, but Christopher Sebela only shines when he’s giving Tessa her voice; everyone else just kind of blends together but Tessa stands out and shines. I like this book, but if they keep dragging out the mysteries and depriving us of answers I feel like my attention span can’t keep up.
The Verdict – 7.5/10
