Review – Generation Gone #2 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Ales Kot
Artwork: Andre Lima Araujo
Colouring: Chris O’Halloran
Release Date: 23rd August 2017

In my review of the first issue of Generation Gone, I mentioned that while I felt this new series had great potential, it also had numerous pitfalls to avoid. Well, I’m happy to report that the second issue is noticeably better than the first. We learn exactly what superpowers two out of the three have got – flight and invulnerability – and are given hints regarding the third. It all feels a little bit like an American adaptation of E4’s Misfits, albeit significantly less crude.

Writer Ales Kot then gives us a little more insight into the characters and backgrounds of both Mr Akio and the General. I honestly feel that these two may end up becoming the most interesting part of the book, with their personal philosophies and goals clashing as they both steadfastly maintain that they are on the same team.

We do learn that Mr Akio is playing both sides against one another, telling the team that the army is coming and that they should run. However, Ellie decides that she is going to stay and meet the military while the other two are going to hide out in a cabin Ellie knows. At the end of the issue they pass through a peaceful demo and accidentally initiate a riot in which they expose their powers.

In my last review I mentioned that I wasn’t a fan of Araujo’s art style, but after reading this issue I’ll admit that it’s starting to grow on me. I might not find it hugely aesthetically pleasing (again, that’s more a personal preference thing than an appraisal of Araujo’s skills), but you can definitely feel the emotion and movement of the characters through it. And, in the end, that’s what’s important in artwork. The writing tells the story but the artwork has to sell it.

This is a great example of just how a second issue should be laid out. The story moves along at a decent pace and we get to learn more about a few of the main characters. You can also really feel the influences of other stories in the book. Perhaps the best way to describe it is a more realistic (if you can even say that) version of the Ultimate X-Men. There are also heavy doses of military drama and all the teenage angst/mood swings you can handle.

Generation Gone is off to a great start, and I truly hope it can maintain this upward trajectory.

Rating: 3/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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