Advance Review — ‘White Sky’ #2 Tells A Compelling Story, But Doesn’t Reveal Many Secrets

Two issues into Image Comics’ new series White Sky, and questions are still piling up for readers? What happened that caused the apparent apocalypse? What are the mysterious creatures that are haunting the survivors? And, well, why is the sky white?

Don’t expect much in the way of answers yet.

In fact, just about the only thing we learn in this sophomore outing is the source of the voice that has been talking to heroine Violet. It belongs to the mysterious and often-confused psychic-medium named Walter, whom Violet rescues. Meanwhile, the questions keep piling up.

That’s not a bad thing at all, as long as the creative team, led by writer William Harms and artist J.P. Mavinga, parse out enough answers to keep readers engaged from issue to issue. For now, their strong writing and interesting artwork have us hooked.

Harms takes a bit of a back seat in this chapter. The issue opens with the murderous scavengers killing some of their own after messing up the abduction of Violet’s father.

But the majority of this installment is left in Mavinga’s able hands. Alone for most of the issue, Violet silently navigates California’s largely abandoned Bay Area, including a vomit-inducing slaughterhouse. It’s alternatingly freeing and challenging for Mavinga to constantly draw outside scenes with only a brilliant white for the sky. It can leave the images feeling unfinished, but perhaps that is the point. Time will hopefully tell.

Answers are coming, faithful readers. They have to be for this series to be successful. Just don’t expect them all at once. And, as with some of the best tales, expect those answers to open up even more perplexing questions.

White Sky #7 — written by William Harms, illustrated by J.P. Mavinga, colored by Lee Loughridge, and lettered by Ed Dukeshire — will be available in comic book stores and on digital platforms on Wednesday from Image Comics.