The Resistance #2 Review
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.
Colours: Frank Martin
Letters: Sal Cipriano
As one of AWA’s flagship comics The Resistance #1 made a huge impact on arrival. The parallels between COVID-19 in the real world and the fictional XV1N1 were instantly obvious and helped bring home the horrors of a pandemic sweeping the world. The debut issue had a lot riding on it, especially as it was setting up a new, shared, superhero universe that promises to be quite unlike anything the big two publishers are producing. And it absolutely knocked it out of the park.
This second issue carries on from where we left it without faltering and delivers an incredible follow up. This is one of the most exciting ventures from a new publisher and makes it a must read. The plot follows the survivors of this mysterious plague, the lucky 5%. Many amongst these survivors are developing powers or abilities. The Resistance is set in the aftermath of this world. A world ravaged by hundreds of millions of deaths. Survivors developing superpowers. It’s such an exciting premise.
The first issue didn’t follow any characters particularly closely. We got smaller, human stories, which told the bigger story. It's a different and exciting way of telling the story while introducing the large ensemble cast who are sure to play important roles in the future. That looks to be the format going forward. We’re introduced to a lot of smaller, seemingly unconnected, stories, which serve the purpose of introducing characters and telling the story going forward. It reminds me in a way of Heroes, where seemingly unrelated people begin to develop various superpowers.
At this point the story is following two tangents. On the one hand we have the world leaders discussing what to do with these powered individuals. An interesting moral decision. Having superpowers isn’t a crime. Should action be taken against them? Can it be taken? Morally, legally? Then we have the introduction of the powered individuals, amongst them a group of superheroes coming together to protect themselves from those who would take action against them.
It’s such a well realised world. The planning must have been a huge undertaking. It’s exciting and new and fresh and a damn good read. This issue also serves as an introduction to the follow up series, Moths, which has an incredible premise.
The art from Mike Deodato Jr. is incredible. He manages to make even the most mundane panels look fantastic. The detail he goes into is outstanding. All of his characters are really well created, they’re all so human looking and flawed. The initial pages introduce us to an overweight doctor who is a great example of this. He’s flawed and human and his appearance tells us as more about his character than a dozen lines of text would. And it’s these flaws which make them look real.
The action scenes have a cinematic feel to them. Stracyznski knows when to step back and let Deodato Jr. tell the story and leave his art text free. The effect is stunning. We have car chases and fights and the artwork is gorgeous. Check out our preview pages at the bottom of the page to see for yourself.
Unfortunately I can’t go into any details about Frank Martin’s colours because the review copy I have is in black and white. Knowing his work as well as I do, and having seen it in the first issue, I have nothing but confidence it’ll be incredible. The colours in the first issue were amongst the best I’ve ever seen in a comic. But without seeing them I can’t comment.
The Resistance is shaping up to be one of the best comic series period. As the set up for AWA’s shared universe it’s doing a fantastic job. The writing is outstanding. The way the story comes together from smaller, human stories, sucks the reader in. The tales feel so real. The artwork is spectacular. Every single part of this comic is brilliant. This is 2020’s must read comic. If the quality of their releases so far are any indication AWA are going to be huge in a few years. On a slightly different note they’re also making some of their releases free online due to the coronavirus outbreak and availability issues, which is such an incredible move. Check out The Resistance #1 here.
Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.
Colours: Frank Martin
Letters: Sal Cipriano
As one of AWA’s flagship comics The Resistance #1 made a huge impact on arrival. The parallels between COVID-19 in the real world and the fictional XV1N1 were instantly obvious and helped bring home the horrors of a pandemic sweeping the world. The debut issue had a lot riding on it, especially as it was setting up a new, shared, superhero universe that promises to be quite unlike anything the big two publishers are producing. And it absolutely knocked it out of the park.
This second issue carries on from where we left it without faltering and delivers an incredible follow up. This is one of the most exciting ventures from a new publisher and makes it a must read. The plot follows the survivors of this mysterious plague, the lucky 5%. Many amongst these survivors are developing powers or abilities. The Resistance is set in the aftermath of this world. A world ravaged by hundreds of millions of deaths. Survivors developing superpowers. It’s such an exciting premise.
The first issue didn’t follow any characters particularly closely. We got smaller, human stories, which told the bigger story. It's a different and exciting way of telling the story while introducing the large ensemble cast who are sure to play important roles in the future. That looks to be the format going forward. We’re introduced to a lot of smaller, seemingly unconnected, stories, which serve the purpose of introducing characters and telling the story going forward. It reminds me in a way of Heroes, where seemingly unrelated people begin to develop various superpowers.
At this point the story is following two tangents. On the one hand we have the world leaders discussing what to do with these powered individuals. An interesting moral decision. Having superpowers isn’t a crime. Should action be taken against them? Can it be taken? Morally, legally? Then we have the introduction of the powered individuals, amongst them a group of superheroes coming together to protect themselves from those who would take action against them.
It’s such a well realised world. The planning must have been a huge undertaking. It’s exciting and new and fresh and a damn good read. This issue also serves as an introduction to the follow up series, Moths, which has an incredible premise.
The art from Mike Deodato Jr. is incredible. He manages to make even the most mundane panels look fantastic. The detail he goes into is outstanding. All of his characters are really well created, they’re all so human looking and flawed. The initial pages introduce us to an overweight doctor who is a great example of this. He’s flawed and human and his appearance tells us as more about his character than a dozen lines of text would. And it’s these flaws which make them look real.The action scenes have a cinematic feel to them. Stracyznski knows when to step back and let Deodato Jr. tell the story and leave his art text free. The effect is stunning. We have car chases and fights and the artwork is gorgeous. Check out our preview pages at the bottom of the page to see for yourself.
Unfortunately I can’t go into any details about Frank Martin’s colours because the review copy I have is in black and white. Knowing his work as well as I do, and having seen it in the first issue, I have nothing but confidence it’ll be incredible. The colours in the first issue were amongst the best I’ve ever seen in a comic. But without seeing them I can’t comment.
The Resistance is shaping up to be one of the best comic series period. As the set up for AWA’s shared universe it’s doing a fantastic job. The writing is outstanding. The way the story comes together from smaller, human stories, sucks the reader in. The tales feel so real. The artwork is spectacular. Every single part of this comic is brilliant. This is 2020’s must read comic. If the quality of their releases so far are any indication AWA are going to be huge in a few years. On a slightly different note they’re also making some of their releases free online due to the coronavirus outbreak and availability issues, which is such an incredible move. Check out The Resistance #1 here.
A Look Inside
