Epilogue
Issue: #2
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Kyle Hotz
32 pp. IDW Publishing. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“It happened so fast.
They were dead before I could even pull the trigger.”— Epilogue #2
The first issue of Epilogue ended with the main character having a gruesome flashback, his origin story laid bare for the reader. The issue ended just as bad things were posed to happen. Now the second issue picks up the action, and there isn’t much lingering suspense as it’s obvious that the situation will ultimately be tragic. The hero is a seemingly invincible vampire; you don’t get that way because good things happened to you. (You never hear the phrase, “Awesome, I hit the vampire lottery” come out of anyone’s mouth.) So not surprisingly, good things don’t happen and our hero is left with a nasty case of vampirism after all the mayhem goes down. I guess some days are just like that. (But at least a crook doesn’t plug his Uncle Ben.)
Meanwhile back in the present day, Detective Marci Kramer and her partner are discussing how their unknown vigilante has the criminal element in the city spooked. What with all the killing and maiming he’s been doing, he’s taken a bigger bite out of crime than McGruff. Being rational cops, they try to piece together who their mystery man could be. And, considering the circumstances, whether they are dealing with something out of the ordinary. (The fact that the vigilante catches a whole Chinese munitions factory full of bullets and doesn’t die lends credence to the supernatural hypothesis.)
Soon we catch back up to our hungry hero as he goes out one night to hunt. And the kind of meat he’s looking for doesn’t come from a drive-thru. Finally he picks out two criminals for his late night snack. But just as he’s hooking into some crook Chow mein, a complication arises which gives him more exposure than he wants.
The story for the issue is generic at best. Writer Steve Niles doesn’t present the reader with anything new or interesting here; everything in the issue, you’ve seen before. From the character design to the plotting, the entire issue is derivative and unoriginal. While I enjoyed
The art is as generic as the story. Kyle Hotz’s interiors seem too cartoony for the tone of the comic, and there is nothing in the issue that will stick with you. Overall, I found the visuals a bit substandard for my tastes.
Any promise displayed by the first issue is undermined in the second issue of Epilogue. There’s absolutely nothing to the story or art to recommend it, and I don’t get the feeling that it’s going to improve anytime soon. This is one you can miss.
Final Grade: 67 out of 100
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Comic Break: Epilogue #1 (IDW Publishing)
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