Butcher Queen: Dead Planet #2

Butcher Queen: Planet of the Dead #2

Red5 Comics 2020

Written by Jim Ousley

Illustrated & Lettered by Ben Sawyer

PREVIOUSLY IN BUTCHER QUEEN

A never-before-seen life-form that can leap from body to body has found its way to Syd

Kiowa’s home and potentially millions of new hosts. Mysterious forces are after the life form

and Syd doesn’t know who to trust .

The full scope of Edvin Ivanoff's sinister plan is revealed, as Syd Kiowa and a mysterious inter-dimensional ally join forces with a clandestine agency to try and prevent Earth's complete destruction.

Well now seeing where this issue picks up from the last issue is great. The opening is even better as we get to see what Edvin Ivanoff is currently up to, at least one worlds version of him that is. I do like that we see Dagger meeting up with Syd and how through the course of this issue he cements himself with a place in her team. I think that speaks volumes about the young man and what he is capable of and it’s nice to see this kind of character development. The series continues to impress me with how well thought out it is and how this is much different than the previous arc meaning that we’re in the midst of Syd’s transformation.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented extremely well. As a matter of fact I really am digging how the story & plot development and the introduction of characters into new roles go hand in hand with the character development that we are seeing here. How they interact with one another and how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter really help to flesh them out more fully and it’s such a delight to see. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way it creates such a nice dynamic in the book.

The pacing helps with how we see the book being structured and how the layers within the story continue to play out. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is extremely well done. How seamlessly Syd accepts the new folks in her life and how to utilise their gifts, which is basically them doing it and she sees their potential.

The interiors here are interesting and I do wish they were more polished but this is Ben’s style of work. The linework is confident and the characters, well Syd looks like a man a lot so body image aside that needs a little work and some better consistency. That being said there is some absolute great moments as well and the moment we see Zhang Kar and Rags those characters look amazing. Also that two-page spread is bonkers and I wish that the whole book looked like this! The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a solid eye for storytelling. The colour work is utterly gorgeous and how we see the various hues and tones within the colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is exceptionally well rendered.

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I am thoroughly enjoying this book and it is definitely proof positive how a story driven book can be incredible to experience. Following Syd’s life as she transitions from outlaw to the law again with all the baggage that contains is an interesting roller coaster of a ride for sure. I also really like the overlying theme where different versions of Edvin being out there and having to figure out which one is where. While trying to figure out how the red mass is transmitted from host to host. It is going to take everything Syd and her team have to offer to get through this intact.