Advance Review: ‘Gunsmith Cats Omnibus’ Book 2 Is Legally Problematic
by Benjamin Hall
Summary
Murder and mayhem follow the Gunsmith Cats in the streets of Chicago. Can Rally Vincent and Minnie-May Hopkins continue to survive when they have to deal with the mafia? Also what about this new drug, Kerasine, that the Mafia is using to control people? Could mafia queen Goldie defeat our two favorite bounty hunters with it?
Overall
4.9/10Various problems exist in this collection. One of these problems is the fact that there are underage scenes. Although the ones featuring a lead character are not explicit and the character is verbally consenting. Yet, there are still moral and legal problems both in and out of the narrative because of these scenes. A simpler problem is that all the chapters begin with a story already unfolding. This makes it somewhat difficult to tell when a chapter is just continuing from a previous one versus starting a new adventure. An even lesser problem is that a certain amount of the story beats are less than clear as to what is happening.
There are some good, albeit small, details that crop up in the chapters. These details range from moments that might lead to thinking about issues in relation to health to how a person might react to an attack.
When it comes to the English translation, there are few complaints the average reader may have. The only exception may be when it comes to how a person might describe something themselves versus how the translators Dana Lewis and Toren Smith handle it.
There is not much to say about the retouching work of the letterers/retouchers from Studio Cutie except that it not noticeable. As far as their lettering goes they do fine for the most part with placing the text.
Writer and artist Kenichi Sonoda does a fine job with the majority of the dialogue. However, some moments do not make any sense till later because of how he sequences them. This leads to several pages in the narrative feeling like they are in the wrong place in this collection. Not to mention that at least two of the footnotes are hard to read because of how he positions them on the pages. While the action ranges from believable to outlandish it is always entertaining. As for the legal and moral problems they are lesser in this collection than those in Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Book 1 (2025). Thus, this volume remains problematic in much the same way as author Stephen King’s novel It (1986).
Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Book 2 sees release from Dark Horse in bookstores on July 28th and comic shops on July 29th.
