Duplicant #2

Duplicant #2

Second Sight Publishing 2021

Written by Karla Nappi

Illustrated by Marianna Strychowska

Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual

Matt Travers is haunted by the sudden death of Duplicant organ recipient Pamela Wilton. His research into whether his tech caused Pamela's death points to the possibility of a traitor in their midst, and Matt learns the Duplicant program has been taking advantage of already vulnerable people.

This is the issue I have been waiting for. I was so impressed with the first issue that I was eagerly awaiting the second to see if it lived up to the first and not only does it live up to it but most assuredly surpasses my expectations. Science fiction can be a joyous playground to play in and then when you throw a mystery into the mix adding drama and intrigue and you’ve got a story that needs to be paid attention to as its read. Cerebral storytelling that is set in a science fiction universe is no mean feat and yet Karla seems to have done such a marvellous job making it seem to darn easy. I am very much enjoying the intricacies of the way that this is being told.

I am loving the way that this is being told. The story & plot development 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 and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter is magnificently laid down before us. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story along with some twists & turns along the way we are drawn into this and engaged in some truly spectacular ways.

How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen depending on the avenues that open up or the ones that are explored is mind numbing. These layers contain some fabulous characterisation and are where we see them find avenues they need to explore and whether they work with the main arc or simply swirl around what we get is added depth and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably rendered.

The interiors here are absolutely amazing. The linework is crisp, clean and tight and with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level of detail work is truly astonishing to see. That we see backgrounds as we do is phenomenal in how they enhance the moments but how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is fantastic to see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a dynamic eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination on display leaves me chuffed to bits and seeing the section of skin, the nanobots and such is mindbogglingly brilliant to see. The colour work is fabulous! The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a sensational eye for colour and how it can and should work to its maximum effects.

This really is a brilliant series and one that deals with the aftereffects of the pandemic and doesn’t really delve into the cause of it and I’m okay with that for now. At some point the cause is going to have to play a role in the cure for it and when that time comes it’ll be the right time and until then i’m all for how we see the dynamics between these characters play out.

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With some incredible writing and characterisation dealing with a diverse group of people wrapped up in some of today’s strongest interiors this is going to blow your mind and you’ll love every moment it does just that.