Back into the world of Arkhaven we go. As with issue #1, we pick back up with the recruitment of superheroes, but this time we have hopped the pond to the states. And topics are now highly relevant: one of our heroes is acting as a vigilante enforcer, ridding the world of MS13 and Antifa one gang at a time.

There are quite a few other triggers embedded in the story, too. You could play bingo with current events.

But the real story is the introduction of Rebel, our Southern Belle superhero. TBH, I’m not sure what her superpower is aside from being hot, flexible, and charming, but I trust that we’ll find out in the coming issues. I have a feeling that Rebel will become a major plot point.

Because this issue focused mainly on two superheroes instead of one, the plot felt a little more disjointed. Not bad enough to be an issue, but there was a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time so don’t expect any hand-holding or elegant transitions.

Which leads me to my major logistical complaint: sometimes I’m still not sure which panel to read in what order, and sometimes panels seem to be jammed into the story without warning. There are a few rapid transitions and flashbacks in this issue that took me a few read-throughs to parse out. (Please note that I’m not a seasoned comics reader so your mileage may vary.)

However. The art is much improved in this issue. So much that I could see someone ripping out a page and hanging it in his wall (but somehow I suspect that is comic book sacrilege). I appreciate enjoyed the range and quality of the facial expressions, and the backgrounds. All those trees!

The coloring is also pretty great, especially the bits with light it fire in them.

Anyhow, this was a fun issue meeting many of the American heroes (including a 100% genuine American badass). Where issue #1 sucked me in with a compelling story, issue #2 presents a myriad of compelling characters.

It’s a nice balance, and I look forward to seeing how the story develops on both sides of the Atlantic.

And maybe the Pacific, based on that cliffhanger!