House of Night #2
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writers: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Kent Dalian
Artists: Joelle Jones, Joshua Covey (cover by Jenny Frison)
Anybody that knows a teenage girl (or girls) knows that they can be extremely catty. This isn’t any different at a school full of vampyres either. Zoey is the new girl that has just been put in charge of a small group (the Dark Daughters) that used to be headed by a girl named Aphrodite. Now, Aphrodite immediately has a problem with Zoey for that reason, but also because her boyfriend left her, as well. So basically, you have all the teen drama you need, plus the fact that these characters are all either vampires in training, or in Zoey’s case, chosen by Nyx (vampyre goddess) to be a leader. We also see an origin for the air powers that Zoey is experimenting with as well. It’s quite graphic in its telling of two young girls that lost their mother, then are repeatedly raped and beaten by soldiers. They eventually get away and end up at the House of Night.
OK, well, this issue pretty much mirrored the first one in its entirety. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it did seem slightly redundant. After two issues, it seems more and more like a Harry Potter for girls. Again, not that that’s terrible, but it’s just not for me personally. Cast does a good job of selling the drama, and I’m sure that’s why she sells so many books. Honestly, though, I have a difficult time grasping why they would sell so well. I mean, I get the appeal on a certain level, but it would seem that it would get old quick.
The artwork by Jones and Covey is pretty good, but nothing spectacular. It’s slightly cartoony, but not bad. I liked the pages that told the story from the past better than the “now” stuff. The colors are pretty good and really help out. Some of the time the art wasn’t over impressive, but the colorists (Ryan Hill, Dan Jackson) did the book a favor for sure. Not sure if I want to pick up the next issue, but I probably will see out the first arc. Rating 2.5/5
**Note**
In my review of issue #1, I wrongly gave Kent Dalian credit as the artist, instead of a writer. My sincere apologies.
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
