The first issue of Sheltered was a real masterpiece. The cover showed people exactly what was going to happen and still readers did not see the end coming. With much anticipation and total faith in the creative team of Ed Brisson and Johnnie Christmas, fans should dive into this second issue. Check out the description text from Image,

With their parents’ blood on their hands, the youth of Safe Haven begin to splinter as doubt is cast on Lucas’s leadership. New arrival Victoria finds that escaping from a compound built to keep others out is near-impossible.

The amount of love and care put into this comic continues to be astounding. It is great to have such a prominent layer of emotional fallout, after the huge cliffhanger towards the first chapter of the series. Brisson does a great job capturing the emotional despair of the characters without going into the realm of being heavy-handed. These kids seem more interested in survival than grief, which at this point makes complete sense. Giving two characters the voice of reason amongst a bunch of horrible people is just fascinating.

Johnnie Christmas continues his streak of incredibly impressive artwork in this issue. The characters in this title all look very different from each other, which may sound like a no brainer yet is quite a feat. Facial expressions are also completely nailed by the artist, which helps nail the grim tone conveyed by Brisson. The soft lines of Christmas give a certain amount of tension that would not be in the title otherwise. The cover to both of these issues really capture that idea. The colors by newcomer Shari Chankhamma are also quite wonderful, as the snow looks perfect. The hint of color in many panels goes perfect with the pencils.

This is yet another issue in a stellar series that will totally grip fans emotionally. Sheltered has been an insane roller coaster ride that continues to let up.

4/5