Gung-Ho: Anger #2

Gung-Ho: Anger #2

Ablaze Publishing 2021

Written by Benjamin Von Eckartsberg

Illustrated by Thoas Von Kummant

Lettered by Taylor Esposito

Translation by Ivanka Hahnenberger

Zack's secret expedition into the danger zone proves a success. But the group soon finds themselves at odds, fighting one another, and unable to get along. Can they pull themselves together long enough to make it back to Fort Apache alive and in one piece?

Since the first issue of this franchise this has been one of my favourite books. The evolution of the characters and how this city on the edge of nowhere has come to life has been something that I’ve enjoyed seeing. What I like about Benjamin’s writing is the fact that he never stops moving things forward and how we see how absolutely corrupt the adults truly are and how the teens are actually starting to talk to one another about their experiences being molested or being forced to trade sex for a myriad of reasons. We’re starting to see the beginning of the end of this idyllic blissful ignorance and while I doubt this will be the arc that causes the proverbial shit hits the fan it is coming and I look forward to seeing just how the revelations are going to change things.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented impeccably well. The character development is constantly changing and evolving thanks to the way we see the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story and pulls us deeper and deeper in.

I greatly appreciate the way that this is structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve, strengthen and newly emerge as the avenues being explored dictate. It is within these layers where the stronger bits of characterisation happen and where the bits and pieces that either work with or swirl around the main arc. What they add to the story is depth and complexity we wouldn’t otherwise see and it’s beautifully rendered. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is spectacularly achieved.

The interiors here are interesting to say the least. I love the backgrounds and how much detail work we see in them. The work we see in them is mindbogglingly gorgeous and how we see them work within the composition of the panels to create the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope of the story. The characters themselves are well rendered and at times their faces and facial expressions perplex me but then again not everyone has the same style of face and I’m no expert on what a face looks like as it’s hit so I’m just rolling with the punches. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. I wish we’d get a closer look at the rippers this issue, I love the creativity and imagination that we see bring them to life. The colour work is completely and utterly mesmerising. How the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a master colourist in full action. The light sources streaming through the trees sends shivers down my spine.

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I wasn’t expecting things to go the way they do here and I have to say that at this point the more you can surprise me the better. Also what it means for the future is something they’ll have deal with and I look forward to seeing how they handle that. With some brilliant writing and characterisation and these gorgeously solid interiors we are transported to another place and time.