Advance Review – ‘Exquisite Corpses’ #2 Drops Off A Little After Stellar Introduction
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
It’s difficult to pull off a second issue when the first was nearly perfect. Yet the creative team does a good job of moving along this story of competing killers in a small town. The artwork isn’t as great as the previous installment, but with a rotating writer and artist, readers are guaranteed to get something a little different each month.
Overall
9/10Like the characters they have created, Michael Walsh and James Tynion IV are risk-takers. Unlike those characters in Exquisite Corpses though, the pair doesn’t have to worry about meeting their blood end in a sleepy Maine town if they fail.
Walsh and Tynion have gone all in with Corpses, committing to oversized issues (the premiere chapter was triple-sized) and a rotating creative team. Heck, they already announced a card game based on the series and have a national signing tour when each of the first several issues drop.
They delivered a near-perfect first issue of the limited series, so it’s no surprise that the sophomore installment is just a bit of a letdown. Still, most creators would jump at the chance for this kind of creative success so early in a story.
The second issue, this time written by Walsh and Tynion, continues the story of a game where the rich from each of the original 13 colonies take over a town and send in one killer each to determine which family rules the United States for the next five years. The last issue ended with the death of one of the wealthy families’ champions.
In this chapter, we start to see the bloodshed extended to the town’s residents, who are unaware of the game taking place in their neighborhoods of Halloween. The story is good, but not quite as engaging as the buildup from the first issue.
The visuals aren’t as crisp either. Where Walsh was responsible for the look in the premiere, he works with Marianna Ignazzi this time around, with not as much success. Add in colorist Jordie Bellaire’s overreliance on reds and blues, which make the opening half of the book look a little flat.
It will be interesting to see whether bringing in a second writer and artist for each issue (Tynion and Walsh will continue to contribute to the writing and artwork respectively), will inject new life and perspectives into the story or if it will serve as a distraction. It’s a risk, yes, but Walsh and Tynion have a good track record, so confidence is high.
Exquisite Corpses #2 will be available in comic shops and digital platforms June 18th from Image Comics.
