Chicken Devil #2

Chicken Devil #2

Aftershock Comics 2021

Written by Brian Buccellato

Illustrated by Hayden Sherman

Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

The most unlikely chicken-fried revenge story continues. Mitchell, our over-matched hero, must contend with the bloody aftermath of his first run-in with the Russian mob…as he deals with nosy detectives, his shady business partner, Antonio and the stolen heroin.

Last issue ended with the mob henchman shooting himself at the gym as Mitchell was retrieving the heroin hidden in Antonio’s locker. This of course is after his family is brutally murdered by the mob. What a revolting turn of events this all is but I have to say it’s also some of the most interesting and intriguing and absurd stories that I am having the pleasure to read. Mitch is uncomfortable as he is so he dons the store’s mascot outfit and this makes him feel like he can do anything. I like this aspect as the supposed anonymity is something that gives him courage and strength, it’s a psychological issue sure but it’s well worth its weight in gold. It also effectively engages the reader and takes us off page and into our minds creativity and imagination. From the unexpected comes the extraordinary and this is certainly the case here as this story continues to take on a life of its own and continues to take us places we never thought that it could.

I’m 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 is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a marvellous job in continuing to flesh out their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the crazier things become.

I’m enjoying the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I also like the way that we see the layers open up new avenues to be explored and how they add such great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. Mitch’s actions here are those that really show how much he may or may not be growing into something so much more than he’d been. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

The interiors here are really rather something. The linework is clean, crisp and sharp with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work creating its own unique style. The way we see backgrounds being utilised throughout to enhance and expand the moments are beautifully rendered. How we see them bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is marvellous to see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective within the panels show an extremely talented eye for storytelling. I have to say that the chicken suit for me is one of the highlights as well as it showcases some smart creativity and imagination in the work. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works.

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While opening your own fast food restaurant may seem risky, if the product is good then there should be no worries as long as the location is solid. Still the way we see this makes me wonder how long Antonio has been in bed with these folks and if this was part of his plan for all along. Again I’m going off page and being this engaged and invested in the book is impressive to me. The writing is superb and the characterisation is solid and interesting while the unique interiors really do wonders in bringing this to life.