Waiting For The Punchline: Reviewing ‘Gotham City Sirens’ #2

The Internet and energy drinks have their pros and cons. Put them together in the wrong hands, it gets dicier. Namely if said wrong hands belong to one clown inspired Punchline.

Things take quite a turn for the title trio in Gotham City Sirens #2, as the weekly miniseries hits the halfway point. Nasty boys and rabbits are all over the place in this story from Leah Williams, Daniel Hillyard, Triona Farrell, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

Flip back not that long ago, it is a month-long mini after all, and you’ll see how much I really dug the first issue. I’m sad to say that this one was a bit less of an enjoyment. Not like to an extreme amount, it was still fun and hit the spot. It just felt like there were some bogged down spots and a lot of throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the wall.

Williams is one of those writers that when I see her name it’s pretty likely I’m going to check things out. Not to say that there haven’t been things not quite to my taste, but that’s to be expected. No creator is batting a thousand with every single individual that might happen to like them or their work. In this case I think this issue just suffered a bit from being the sophomore one in a whirlwind blink and you suddenly are at graduation adventure.

Tons to set up for the rest of the event, so lots of talking and whiplash as scenes bounced around.

Her handling of the characters though is pretty great. While I’m a follower of what is up with these characters in their own books, I appreciate how detached this kind of feels. Mentions of continuity, such as the last time Catwoman and Punchline crossed paths, as well as foundational current beats are there. Yet, it feels very new or not fully up to date reader friendly in many respects.

Which is slightly funny since at least two of the characters are mid storylines in their (for the month) on hiatus solos.

Bouncing through artists is nothing new for most books these days. More often than not, many books turn to numerous artists over the weeks or months. In this case we get a switch off happening as Hillyard pops in to take over for Artist, who will return for the third issue.

There is a lot of energy that carries over, showcasing why they chose the two styles. A good sense of depth and weight with a solid paneling sense. Things move with a tangible kinetic energy. All of that movement feels very natural and fluid in most cases.

At the same time, there are a lot of aspects (chiefly faces) that feel sort of rushed, rough, and a bit unfocused at times. It sits right in that space where it’s noticeable but never hits a level of being too much to follow or become off putting. It very well could be tight deadlines for a weekly book, so it’s not something to be all that concerned with overall. Even though I mentioned it, mostly because I prefer to be honest about the things I noticed or thought about.

Across the two issues, Farrell’s color palette is very similar as well. It shifts a bit with the vibrancy and presentation of the colors just because it’s trying to match the overall style of each artwork. Plenty of darkness still exists to really make the lighter stuff pop, with some of the colors still sliding into the almost neon level of brightness. Really hammering home how colorful these characters and their world happens to be.

Colorful larger-than-life characters need voices that match. Good thing Otsmane-Elhaou specializes in that as a letterer. Taking all the words and presenting a solid baseline level of lettering before sliding into very unique graphic evolutions. Colors, bigger fonts, bolds, different bubble/box shapes, and so much more. Really playing up the varied personas that are bouncing off each other, keeping things light and fun. With just the right level of sharper serious edge to it all.

Gotham City Sirens #2 is now available from DC Comics.