ADVANCE REVIEW: Thaniel #2

Will Thaniel’s origin change the dynamics of this story and if so how? Read on to find out.

The official description from OSSM Comics:

After discovering the person behind the drug trafficking in his city, Thaniel’s forced to use his power against someone he cares about. Every decision he’s made, every tragedy he’s faced was only a precursor of what’s to come. Delivering others from evil comes at a price.

Thaniel #1 hasn’t hit the shelves yet, though OSSM Comics have once again kindly allowed UTF to advance review this series. In short the first issue was amazing (check out my review for more) and it’s due to this that I was eagerly anticipating reading this issue. There’s a noticeable change in atmosphere throughout this issue, as despite keeping the same tone as the last issue it felt very different.

A lot of this was probably due to Omar Spahi‘s script taking a much more emotional approach, going deeper into Thaniel’s character and showing how this young man has became so violent and vengeful. Spahi handles this well and along with yet more brilliant narration it gives terrific pace for the issue. It is however the way that he handles the mysterious aspect of this series that I enjoy the most, with the addition of a enigmatic character adding a lot of speculation and suspense. Despite all this the issue was a little slower than the first with a lot less action, and although this was needed it took away from the awe factor.

Terry Huddleston once again does a killer job of the artwork, with his dark and gritty style suiting the story’s tempo perfectly. There was however a few things that I really disliked, as although the pencils and overall detail was brilliant, the highlight colours weren’t. Due to this issue focusing more on Thaniel’s past Huddleston decides to change the red highlight to a light blue. Now in theory this sound terrific, showing the difference between light and dark. In practicality however the light blues don’t really work well next to the black and white art, being a little jarring to look at. Despite this the art was still terrific having smooth layouts, and showing tremendous emotion. Just a shame that the blue highlights didn’t work.

Thaniel is a series that is a must have addition for anyone’s pull list. Despite being a little slower than the opening issue it does add a lot of depth and along with it’s fabulous art it’s a terrific read for any fans of blood and gore. So ask your local comic book store to order a copy of Thaniel #1 & 2 as with this issue being released April 23rd and the first coming out April 9th you’ll regret not doing so. Highly recommended.