What To Do About Drill Music And The Sea Monsters – Steeple #2 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Billie is still reeling from the discoveries of the night before: Reverend Penrose is in charge of fighting monsters in Tredregyn in addition to working the parish. However, Billie won’t be deterred from helping the community of Tredregyn as a vicar, and she even convinces a trio of Drill rappers to help the city “to take down Boscastle” with the help of Maggie. The Drill trio help Billie clean up Tredregyn as a rainstorm befalls the city. This conjures a pair of sea demons that follow Billie and her helpers back to the parish. Reverend Penrose is already armed and ready to fight these creatures of the deep.
Steeple #2 finds Billie grappling with the fact that Reverend Penrose is a monster hunter and that Tredregyn is a hot spot for sea monster invasion.
What is especially smart on the part of Steeple is how quickly it turns the expectations of what will happen next on their head. Given the first issue, one would understandably expect this to be a story about Penrose and Clovis teaching Billie to be a monster hunter as well–but it doesn’t happen that way.
Much of this comic consists of the aforementioned community outreach with the Drill crew. When the monsters appear, you’re led to believe that this will be the moment that Billie comes to understand what her duty is to the town. I won’t say what actually happens here (of course), but it’s not that.
The slightly disappointing part of Steeple #2 is the art. I enjoyed the first issue, and I am generally a fan of John Allison’s artwork. I even like the cover quite a bit. However, the interiors to Steeple #2 feel a little undercooked. It still resembles his style in some ways, and there are moments where the visuals shine. However, it doesn’t gel consistently in this book. Sarah Stern’s color art still looks quite good, giving Billie and her world the popping colors they deserve.
Steeple #2 is a solid comic. While I have my issues with the art, it isn’t so bad as to sink the comic. Plus, the story is charming, interesting, and subverts expectations in a clever manner. As such, I can still recommend this one. Feel free to check it out.
Steeple #2 comes to us from writer and artist John Allison, color artist Sarah Stern, letterer Jim Campbell, cover artist John Allison with Sarah Stern, and variant cover artist Lisa Treiman.
Final Score: 7.5/10
