Echoes Of Stories Once Told — Reviewing ‘Supernatural: Sam Winchester’ #2

Despite multiple falling-outs, for fifteen seasons through thick and thin, the Winchester brothers kept sharing headlining space. That’s not the case anymore.

After a mysterious phone call, a cryptic threat, and a mission gone wrong, the brothers split off into their own solo books. Something keeps them apart, but there are still things to hunt, people to save, and a family business to follow.

A dark journey continues with Supernatural: Sam Winchester #2 as the younger brother finds himself in a strange spot. The debut issue arrives from Paulina Ganucheau, Kendall Goode, and Jeff Eckleberry.

This is the book where the main overall mystery which led to this split is being tackled. Which makes sense, as it was Sam that instigated the brotherly breakup. To be fair, some creepy entity told him and proved to him that it could and would kill his brother if he didn’t leave like it wanted. Ganucheau was there to start this story in the split-up one shot, and picks up the threads here.

Sam finds himself in a very different situation, being asked to watch over a pie-loving burger munching scamp of a child. She was mysteriously transported from a cave of bodies to a cellar, and the mysterious Mothman-like figure leading Sam around says he needs to keep her around for the time being.

Ganucheau picks up the right energy from the series as Sam feels just in line with the character as we saw him, especially at this point early into the series lore. Sam was used to being the younger brother, the one looked out for, so having to be the one looking out for someone else, while in the middle of hunting, is a new wrinkle.

It’s definitely a fun story so far as there are the various Supernatural staples like the aforementioned pie, pretending to be police, bodies killed in weird ways, diners, old motels, and more.

Goode captures a visual style which feels soft and whimsical while also feeing heavy and familiar, riding the line between the more fantastical and the realistic in how figures are showcased. Their emotions and actions telegraphed upon their faces and body language. Panel choices really keep the reader in the thick of everything, amplifying the tone shifts and expected elicited emotional energies.

‘Heavier with a touch of lightness’ can be applied to the color palette that Goode has chosen to utilize. Again, it matches the darker tone that is built into this series built on trauma filled brothers who hunt the things that go bump in the night.

Splashes of vibrancy break up the muted and darker color tones, giving everything that little extra spark.

Voices feel authentic in how they are written, boosted by how they are presented upon the page. Eckleberry is prolific when it comes to lettering work at Dynamite, and it’s always clear why. He’s able to cut to the heart of things, pump them full of the correct emotional resonance, and let them flow naturally along the page. Nothing too outside of the box happens here with lettering, but there is no need for it to do so.

Sometimes, straight to the point is the right choice.

Supernatural: Sam Winchester #2 is now available from Dynamite Comics.