Action Journalism #2 Review

by Nick Devonald on May 06, 2020

Writer: Eric Skillman
Artist: Miklós Felvidéki

Action Journalism #2 carries on the crazy exploits of Kate Kelly, plucky reporter for the titular Action Journalism. It’s a stylised homage to tales that would feel right at home half a century ago. The first issue dealt with an alien armada, come “To Destroy Us All”, which Kate Kelly managed to thwart. This second issue deals with Mad Scientists. Kate Kelly and her loyal side kick Danni are undercover at the Lagardo Conference, or in their own words, Comicon for mad science. But of course things go wrong and it’s up to our heroine to save the day.

This is a very stylised comic which sets out to recreate tales from a simpler time, for a modern audience. It’s a quick, fun read, and works really well as a bit of light escapism. It doesn’t set out to tell any grand, epic tales. It has a very distinct style that it wants to recreate, and it manages that brilliantly.

The review for #1 mentioned how cleverly the art is designed to look like newspaper print, and it needs to be reiterated just how well that is done, from the slightly off white colour of it all to the black ink marks on the top of the page. The way that the page is made up of tiny dots bringing to mind old fashioned halftone printers. It really adds to the vibe that this comic is going for.

Again, like the first issue, the front cover sets the tone for the comic brilliantly. From a headline pronouncing "MAD SCIENCE TODAY" to the said mad scientist doing mad scientist experiments, it very much sets the tone and the feel of the comic. A moment to look at it will help you decide if this is a comic for you or not. As a bit of light-hearted, fun escapism, this is highly recommended.

Then there’s the art itself. Miklós Felvidéki does a great job capturing the outlandish stories which go in the pages of Action Journalism. It is at times all a bit bonkers, but what do you expect when you have a reporter undercover at a mad scientist convention? There are some nice touches, a great example being the pages being flipped after a gravity mishap. And just like the story itself, the art is a homage to the art styles of old. Yet reimagined for a modern age.

This all ages comic is sure to appeal to fans of TinTin, or Golden Age comics, as well as being a great bit of escapism which is sorely in demand at this time. It sets out to be an outlandish, fun story, and this is exactly what we get for our money.

Our Score:

7/10

A Look Inside