War Mother #2
Publisher: Valiant
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Stephen Segovia & Roberto de la Torre
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Cover: David Mack
Fred Van Lente switches gears in the latest issue of War Mother and gives this one more of a thriller feel and not the Michael Jackson dancing zombies kind. Ana and her sentient gun, Flaco, were captured last issue and instead of being predictable Van Lente goes the creepy route and we get a disturbing and bloody action sequence to kick things off. He continues to mix great action moments with some horror beats but there are two scenes that stand out. The first concerns the relationship between Ana and Flaco and he/it is unable to understand the complexity of Ana’s decision regarding duty and sacrifice. It makes for tense reading and you might find yourself feeling sorry for the multi-talented highpowered rifle. Now the second involves a creepy kid and we can all agree that when done right there’s nothing creepier than a little kid with murderous intent. For anyone who might have missed out on where the little guy came from Van Lente quickly acclimates you without stalling the plot. Though we don’t know Max’s endgame it’s very clear that he’s going to cause some serious problems.
Two artists handle the visual storytelling and splitting them up to take on separate story points worked out for the better. The bulk of the issue is by Stephen Segovia who helps to make the creepy moments of Ana’s escape so good to watch. The slow four panel close up of Ana as the blood splatter hits her face in each really sells the moment. Ana’s fight with her silent assassin is just a nice display of power and movement with a satisfying end. He also heightens that moment with Flaco pleading with Ana that syncs with the narrative. Roberto de la Torre gives us the creepy sequence with Max and Ignacio which gives off an entirely different mood from the rest of the story. In part due to the art style and the intensity of the expressions and also how Andrew Dalhouse colors this part as to how the rest of the issue looks.
War Mother looks to be more than what we expected it would be and that’s just fine with the five star quality of storytelling we’re getting. Definitely worth sticking around a bit longer to see where this creative team is taking us.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
