Advance Review: Enter The Carnival Of Chaos In Cosmo #2
by James Ferguson
Cosmo, Max Strongjaw, and the crew came to a carnival on the moon for a rescue mission. Now they’re running for their lives from mutant creatures. They’re surrounded and running out of options. How will they get out of this one?
Although it’s Cosmo’s comic, Max Strongjaw comes very close to stealing it from him. The human astronaut is constantly getting into trouble because he’s a complete idiot. He means well, but he’s just so bad at this. Also, despite the fact that the Martians have done everything to welcome him with open arms, he still doesn’t completely trust them.
The interaction between Max and Cosmo is one of my favorite aspects of this comic. There’s a scene where Max gets stuck while escaping from the mutants and Cosmo has to go back to save him. The Martian adventurer goes through a variety of emotions as he realizes what he has to do. Artist Tracy Yardley brings a ton of life to the character. First he looks exhausted because he just got out of danger and now he has to run back up there to save this doofus. Then he gets a determined expression as he rushes into battle, which quickly turns to a grimace when he finds that Max has wiggled free on his own and he just ran up here for nothing.
There’s a lot of action in Cosmo #2. The team is split up and they’re fighting the mutant aliens on all fronts. Lasers are flying every which way as the group works to get back together and find some higher ground. The aliens would almost be cute if they didn’t have such large pointy teeth. They’re these little creatures, little more than a purple ball with arms and legs.
The guy the team came to rescue reveals the mutants’ origin in a quick one page history. It comes at the perfect time as they all need to catch their breath before another assault. There are hints at a darker force working in the shadows, like an anti-Cosmo.
Every member of the team gets some time to shine in Cosmo #2, including the strange dog named Jojo. He has some standout scenes where he shows off some abilities that no one else seemed to be aware of. The shot of them reacting to these newfound powers is priceless. They have this look of disbelief as they try to understand what they just saw.
Cosmo is a fast-paced, energetic, all-ages comic. Most importantly, it’s fun. It is an absolute blast from beginning to end. We’re just getting started with this pint-sized adventurer and I can’t wait to see where he goes next.
Cosmo #2 is set for released on February 7th, 2018 from Archie Comics. It will be available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.
