Random Article


 
Event News
 

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Wayward #2 Brings More Oddoty to the Mix!

 
Wayward02A-585x900-web-350x538
Wayward02A-585x900-web-350x538
Wayward02A-585x900-web-350x538

 
Overview
 

Story by: Jim Zub
 
Art by: Steve Cummings
 
Colors by: John Rauch
 
Letters by: Marshall Dillon
 
Cover by: Steve Cummings and Ross Campbell
 
Publisher: Image Comics
 
Publisher:
 
FG RATING
 
 
 
 
 
2.5/ 5


User Rating
4 total ratings

 

Raves


Rori is a very interesting character. Zub crafts a rich history for her

Rants


Feels like a filler issue and fails to progress the story


To sum it all up..

Wayward #2 begins directly after the events taking place in issue #1, which if you can’t quite recall, our hero Rori, meets this strawberry milk loving girl named Ayane, and the pair ended up battling turtle-like creatures called kappas. Issue #2 adds another oddball to its cast in the persona of Shirai, a young man […]

0
Posted October 8, 2014 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

Wayward2

Wayward #2 begins directly after the events taking place in issue #1, which if you can’t quite recall, our hero Rori, meets this strawberry milk loving girl named Ayane, and the pair ended up battling turtle-like creatures called kappas. Issue #2 adds another oddball to its cast in the persona of Shirai, a young man cursed to feed, not on food, but on spirit energy, lest he dies. Like I said, there’s all kinds of weird herein Wayward’s Japan.

Much of the story involves Rori narrating every scene. Eleven of the twenty-two page comic involves her thinking to herself. While the first issue was nice enough to get me interested in the whole shebang, Wayward #2 loses me as a reader. The plot seems to go nowhere aside from adding another character, and if the series covers are indicators of what might happen in the issue, then expect another character introduction for issue #3, hopefully none for issue #4, and possibly, as the first arc ends, a villain introduction in the form of Japanese wolf monsters (an okami, if I am to trust my google-fu skills).

However, we do get to learn more about Rori in a personal level. We all know that she comes from a broken family, her Dad’s Irish, her Mom’s Japanese. Her Dad beats her Mom, and she left him. Rori comes from a broken family and this seems to have caused her to feel alienated, choosing to harm herself, etching the Japanese word for “alone” in her right arm with a pocket knife.

Steve Cummings’ pencil work in Wayward is marvelous. I haven’t encountered any of his works prior to this, but I’m definitely sold. It feels a bit anime-ish, giving it an even more Japanese vibe. I’m a big fan of his wide and full panel spreads depicting cityscapes, and his cover work is just amazing. Colours are provided by John Rauch and Jim Zub. I’m a big fan of Rauch’s colouring via his work on Invincible and I expect nothing less from him. However, I don’t think Wayward #2 is a testament to his supreme skills. While the colouring for Wayward #1 felt very Rauch-y and reminiscent of his work in Invincible, issue #2 strayed a bit from his usual style. I’m running on assumptions here, but Jim Zub must have done most of the heavy lifting in the colouring department in this issue. It’s good, but it’s not as good as issue #1’s.

Wayward is an interesting comic. It’s filled with oddity—monsters and spirits and unexplained magical powers. However, minus the premise and the great looking art, Wayward has nothing else going for it. The slow pacing of the story and the needless and lengthy expositions are banes that really compel me to drop the title. Either that or these stories aren’t just my kind of tea. Do pick up Wayward if you’re into any of the following: Japanese culture, characters with lots of cats following her around, and American comics inspired by anime/manga.


Julius Sambo

 
Julius spends his free time reading comic books, listening to audio books, watching countless cancelled TV shows, and pretending that he's some kind of sci-fi loving guy (He hasn't seen Star Wars! Gasp!). He likes to create things, loves 90% of baked products, he hates Math, and his one dream is to go to space.


0 Comments



Be the first to comment!


Leave a Response

(required)