Reaver #2 is published by Image Comics under their Skybound. It is written and co-created by Justin Jordan with art and co-creaton by Rebekah Isaacs and colors by Alex Guimaraes. Of course I have to spotlight the stunning covers by Becky Cloonan as well.
There’s six members of Hell’s Half-Dozen. If you didn’t figure that out given the whole “half-dozen” description in their title. The point is, I’m going to break this down by character rather than shove everything together in one paragraph, jumping back and forth. Allow me to set the scene: our merry band of misfits has ventured into Rael territory, which is home to various skin eater tribes and is also very cold.
Let me just get this out, Rekala is top tier waifu. If you don’t know what a waifu is, you’re leading a healthy, normal life – keep it up. If you do know what a waifu is, then you understand this statement to be 100% accurate. She’s just so tiny. And funny. And honestly her views as a skin eater are really interesting. In this issue we learn that her tribe doesn’t eat skin just because, rather, her people eat the skin of their victims as a form of remembrance and absorbing the victim’s story into their own. It’s a really interesting concept. Not justifying cannibalism though, that’s still bad. Best of all we get to see her zipping around like a little ninja, tearing people apart with her claw/hook weapon and, of course, her teeth.
Ash just wants to complete the mission, though he is becoming increasingly weary of Marris and Thes. Rekala tells him, “I do not try to understand the ways of witch men”, but perhaps this is foolish thinking and understanding Marris’s true motives and abilities could prove crucial. Ash also seems to be developing a bit of a soft spot for Rekala – which is cute, but also it’s been like a day, so keep it in your pants, guy.
With Styrian, he’s a great comic relief and I love when he’s on the page, but I’m still not totally sure what he brings to the table. He’s definitely good at talking, but we haven’t seen him really fight or do magic or anything like that. When he does do something, it’s off the page though, which I’m sure is part of the mystery, but I really want to know what exactly he did and how he did it. He just comes back with a bag and the girl who was carrying the bag is running away through the woods without it. So…what even transpired?
Breaker seems more and more jaded with life. He kills swiftly and easily, but it doesn’t make him happy, nor does it make him sad. It just seems like it’s a burden to him at this point. He’d definitely be much happier not having to kill, but that isn’t because he has some newfound understanding that puts him against it, he’s just tired of it. That’s how it seems to me, at least.
Finally, Marris and Thes are over in their own little huddle being creepy and mysterious. Marris does use Thes’s blood to create some weird pink smoke. So, that was neat.
At the conclusion of Reaver #2, here’s my thoughts. I’m sure there will continue to be more action as we get further into enemy territory and hopefully sooner rather than later we’ll know what the hell Styrian does. And I guess what Marris is up to.
OVERALL SCORE: 9 / 10
