This depressing but nonetheless intriguing vision of the future barrels onward with its second issue, but does the creative team muster the gumption to deliver something that’s truly worthwhile?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

Hull ventures deeper into the wilds of the Hinterlands to uncover a lost comrade’s fate, but a savage encounter threatens to derail everything. Back in the opulent and ultramodern city-state of BlackAcre, the aggressive designs of Sinclair, an ambitious young Guardian, come to light.

The increasingly troubling premise of this series continues to propel this new saga forward.  As some minor twists and turns threaten to shake things up our hero, Hull, stays true to his path as he seeks to serve BlackAcre and its inhabitants in some questionable ways.  This latest release offers some depth as it explores that motivation in action while yielding some developments.

Duffy Boudreau delivers a more than competent script that moves the elements of this tale into some rough territory while setting up what is sure to be an interesting adventure next month.  In a lot of ways this comic book is a perfect extension of the first issue as it quickly and somewhat abruptly clears some lingering plot lines in favor of setting up something that (in theory) is more compelling.  The end result is a straight forward jaunt that does just enough to keep the audience engaged as it builds toward a proper cliffhanger.

The art by Wendell Cavalcanti gives the book the right tone as his pencil strokes illustrate some rather complex moments among some simplistic scenes.  From the first page to the last panel he lavishly details the world but there were more than a few moments where his otherwise consistent hand fluctuated a bit giving way to a few underwhelming shots.  Overall though the work on display does more than enough to sell the authenticity of this outlandish but nonetheless intriguing narrative.

BlackAcre #2 is a solid second outing for this burgeoning science fiction series that does just enough to give the main character some depth while warranting a purchase.  Recommended.

3.5/5