Advance Review: ‘A Vicious Circle’ #2 Is A Walk In The (Jurassic) Park

Here’s all you need to know about A Vicious Circle #2: Lee Bermejo draws dinosaurs!

If that intriguing project isn’t enough to get your eyes widening and your heart racing, check your comic credentials at the door. Fortunately, in this issue Bermejo – as per usual – gives his readers more than enough eye candy to devour.

As with the previous issue, each time protagonist Shawn Thacker travels in time, Bermejo changes his artistic style to suit the time period. That means some hyper-realistic imagery for the prehistoric era, a more traditional comic book feel during Nazi Germany and even black and white imagery during the Jim Crow South.

Every page is a feast for the eyes. And Bermejo is a masterful chef. With an oversized book – in terms of size and number of pages – there’s even more to behold.

The artwork, of course, must always be in service of the story. And Mattson Tomlin’s script is again top notch. The only minor quibble is that he spends most of the story giving the two main characters’ backgrounds. It’s a lot of real estate to give to a backstory for a three-issue miniseries. But it’s compelling, nonetheless.

That story deals with two opposing operatives from the future who bounce around from time to time every time one of them kills a person in that era. It seems a bit contrived at first, but Tomlin does a decent job of explain why in this issue.

The only real downsides to this series deal with the format. The creative team developed A Vicious Circle like traditional European comics, which are often published only once a year. The first issue of this series came out last December and the final issue has yet to be solicited. Also, given the oversized nature of the book, it retails for a steep $9.99.

But it’s worth it to hold Bermejo’s artwork in your hand and to marvel at the intricacies of his designs, and of Tomlin’s story.

A Vicious Circle #2 will be available for purchase on Wednesday.