Spike: After the Fall
Issue: #2
Writer: Brian Lynch
Artist: Franco Urru
32 pp. IDW Publishing. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
The second issue of IDW Publishing's Spike: After the Fall has recently hit newsstands, and while the first issue was a nice start, I wanted to see something more promising in this issue to justify continuing on with the series. So did this issue show me what I was looking for? Unfortunately not. While the series holds slight promise, I just don't envision it becoming "must-read" material. This is not to suggest that the comic is bad (it's a high quality book with nice production values), rather it's just not good enough. And in this age when comics cost $4 a pop, I expect excellence in every issue.
At the start of this issue, Spike finds himself face to face with a very large dragon. There is a humorous scene early on where Spike calculates the various attacks he can launch on the dragon and his anticipated results. But the dragon is more of a tease than a threat, coaxing Spike to get on board so that he can show him something. What Spike encounters knocks him for a loop-literally.
Finally regaining his senses, Spike returns to the abandoned amusement park where he and the humans he's supposed to be protecting are hiding out. When he arrives, Spike finds the park empty except for a girl who gives him a nasty little surprise.
Writer Brian Lynch has once again done a fantastic job in characterizing Spike, the dialogue and attitude ringing true to the television show. The problem is that rest of the characters and story are flat in comparison. Nothing that happens to Spike in the first two issues is particularly interesting. The plotting is unfortunately just dull. It's a shame because Lynch really has a feel for the main character.
The artwork by Franco Urru is steady in the issue with a splash page early in the story featuring the dragon which is truly excellent. I can't complain about the job Urru does here, as the vast amount of problems in the series are happening on the plotting end and are outside of his control.
Overall, the level of quality in Spike: After the Fall #2 was not what I was hoping for. Despite good artwork and a wonderful characterization of Spike, the series is being dragged down by a boring plot. That alone has put this series on my "not buy" list.
Final Grade: 74 out of 100
1 comments:
I love Spike and I hate that the story is boring. I really hate when they do that to one of my favorite characters.
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