Gangsta. Vol. 2by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 The Handymen, Nic and Worick, find themselves in an unapproved skirmish. Nic fights Doug, another rank A Twilight.I missed volume 1, but it's easy enough to pick up. The city of Ergastulum is run by the mafia. "Twilights" are mercenaries with superhuman abilities, with A being the highest rank (there's a rank D in this volume as well, which helps provide some perspective). This volume also goes over the rules a Twilight must follow, which are practically the same rules you might see in any given story about artificial intelligence: don't deliberately harm a human / don't allow a human to come to harm through inaction, obey any order from a human that doesn't violate the first rule, and protect themselves as long as it doesn't contradict the first two rules. What's unclear about all this is what exactly makes them cooperate with those rules; I'm really curious about that. Nic appears to be deaf (and able to read lips -- when he wants to), which adds a twist. He's the silent partner, literally, though we are privy to his thoughts. I like that, at times, the art lets us know that that some characters (mainly Worick) are signing, but most of the time it's not really "saying" anything. I love that this volume opens with a rather funny scene at the police station. Both Nic and Worick show their goofy side (okay, so it's mainly Worick, but it's nice to see them like this, especially before the fighting starts). The fight scenes build nicely to the point when Nic and Doug fight. I appreciate that the politics are kept fairly simple and that we're given some perspective on skill level in battle and comprehension of how this society works. There's another twist at the end when a woman (unsure if she's a Twilight) and her rank A Twilight "assistant" shut down the fight; they have absolutely no trouble handling both Nic and Doug, which makes me really curious about them. I don't like that the girl Twilight is so dopey-looking. Even when she shows her skill, the close-up of her eyes says "old, tired, crazy, and too much make-up." The lady in charge is not very attractive either. The other girl in the story right now was taken in by Worick as their "assistant / secretary" or something, and she's dealing with some major issues stemming from being forced (via drugs) to work as a prostitute. When she gets sucked back in, it's unclear if she's hallucinated or if someone really came for her. Worick saves her, showing that (in case we had any doubt) he really is a good guy. The art has good character designs and well-done mechanics. The backgrounds are mainly white space, with just enough detail to set vague settings most of the time. Normally, I'd complain about that, but in this case, it's the right amount of detail, allowing us to focus better on the characters and action. I will definitely be sticking around for volume 3, as I'm intrigued by Worick and Nic, and, to a lesser extent, the whole Twilight thing. Written: May 27, 2014
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