Review: Basilisk #2
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Publisher: Boom Studios
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Jonas Scharf
Colors: Alex Guimaraes
Letters:
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
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Summary
Positives
Writer Cullen Bunn and artist Jonas Scharf have tapped into a flash forward/flashback story fest that keeps the reader intrigued about how we got to this point. Even though Regan has been abducted Hannah, that doesn’t mean anything as the story develops more and more about what these five gods/creatures/people are capable of.
The art in Basilisk #2 is perfect in that the present day scenes are full of color and pop off the page. The past scenes are painted in such a way that you are watching the history of these five through a crystal ball or a murky Harry Potter dream. This is an artist making the script work hand in hand with their skill set! Great stuff!
Positives 2.0
Scharf sets the stage that that Hannah is using Regan as bait for the other four. The dialogue moves fast and its a great march to an eventual confrontation. The clue is that each of these gods, if you will, represent four senses. Whether they are our typical senses , we immediately find out as the Wolverine type character – Jimmy-Boy, obviously can impose his sense of smell or a suggestion of smell on others. This is a creative way to depict death – whew! One or two frames tell the entire story of carnage that happens in a diner. Very Tarantino in a comic style!
 Scharf introduces another character to the mix…Barret. He appears to be head of a cult or of an order in which The Faithful carry out missions. You cannot infer who works for whom and how he is associated with this now core four of the five senses. However, that is good story telling as the story drips from issue to issue making you want to read it more and more!
Finally, we see what Regan in her Basilisk form can do in a mirror…she has the clearest of eyes and can communicate with Manny through the mirror. Talk about Facetime…..
Negatives
Nah…this issue catapults perfectly in jumping from the groundwork laid out in the inaugural issue! Great stuff!
Verdict
This comic has the right amount of horror, dread and Tarantino-type story telling (that’s a compliment) that can easily be translated to the big screen as a movie. These kindred of the senses are scary. I am not sure how this vengeance tale is going to play out, but it definitely makes me more appreciative of all my senses. What a cliffhanger as two frames of this comic gives us Hannah’s motivation in the fullest!  Read this comic on the edge of your seat as it is written for you to do so!Â
