Review: SECOND COMING #3
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Mark Russell
Art: Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk
Colors: Andy Troy
Letters: Rob Steen
Reviewed by: Tony Farina
Summary
Second Coming 3 opens with…Bowling. Yep. Jesus and Sunstar go bowling. Well, Jesus is bowling. Yes ball is colored like and looks like the earth. Yes. That is right. Sunstar is busy reading the paper trying to spot weird crimes that are most likely super-villain related. That guy has a one track mind for sure.
They find out there is a new super-villain called The Ransomer, who, you guessed it, holds things for ransom. Jesus and Sunstar have an argument over how to punish him. They reach a middle ground. Due to a sudden emergency, Sunstar leaves Jesus to find his way home. He wanders around and runs into an old “friend.” They talk. Craziness happens. I will not give that away.
Meanwhile, Sunstar’s grandmother has gone missing so he and Janice head out to Littleton, the town where Sunstar grew up as Ken. He is bereft because the town is not what he remembers it to be. That is only the half of it, when he gets home, he finds out his child hood home is NOTHING like he thought it would be and of course, his grandmother is there. It is both hysterical and terrifying.
Positives
What would a book by Mark Russell be without fun Easter Eggs? Not the kind you eat, but the other kind. The cover of this kicks it off with one of the protesters holding a sign that reads, “God is disappointed in you.” That is funny all by itself, but it also happens to be the name of one of Mark’s books. Nicely done. Of course the visual gags are brilliant as well in the book. I won’t give too many away, but, Ken and Janice drive by a place called “Not fooling ANYONE Hair restoration.”
The work that Pace and Kirk do in this series in genera and in Second Coming 3 in particular is amazing. They draw emotion in such a real way. Jesus has spent most of this series being confused or concerned. They do an excellent job of showing us that with in a real and poignant way. At the end of this issue, he gets the crap kicked out of him by a bunch of Christians. Literally. If you could not read, you would see the disappointment all over his face. It is painful, but honest and perfect.
You read that right. At the end of this book, Jesus is beat up by a bunch of Christians who are carrying anti-LGBTQ signs. It is horrific, but it is also the point of this book. The jokes come fast and furious because if they didn’t, you wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning. George Bernard Shaw said, “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” Granted, this book was almost killed but thanks to the good sense of the folks at Ahoy Comics, it is here, now challenging you and asking you to think about why people do what they do.
As a bonus, the back of Ahoy comics have short stories. Read those. Seriously. How cool is that?
Negatives
If you are easily offended. Don’t read this book.
Verdict
I could have quoted something off every page of Second Coming 3 to explain to you, dear reader, why you should read this book. I don’t want to give too much away. READ. THIS. BOOK. Tell your friends. Tell everyone.
