Maniac of New York #2

Maniac of New York #2

Aftershock Comics 2021

Written by Elliott Kalan

Illustrated by Andrea Mutti

Lettered by Taylor Esposito

Maniac Harry, the unstoppable masked killer causing a significant drop in NYC property values, savagely slashes his way down the length of a packed subway car. Can exhausted commuter Gabriella Acosta keep ahead of the Maniac long enough to save two children from his blade? Meanwhile, Gina Greene of the Maniac Task Force and NYPD detec-tive Zelda Pettibone are willing to do anything to save those passengers — but time is running out, and the Mayor is ready to sacrifice everyone on board if it means trapping Harry for good.

What a crazy ass romp this is turning out to be. So for a bit I thought that perhaps this was going to focus on the task force more than Harry but this issue threw that right out the window. While the task force is a central fixture here there is something about the wontan violence and bloodshed that ensues when Harry’s there that we want to see. Yes we are obsessed with violence, murder and mayhem so long as its fictional. The opening here does exactly what it is supposed to do and it grabs the readers’ attention and it takes us on this train ride through hell that we are thrilled to be taking.

I have to say I am a 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 extremely well presented. With each turn of the page we are taken deeper and deeper into the madness that is these folks lives and we still know nothing about Harry. I think that’s the biggest draw too si that we have no clue about Harry, who he is, why he’s this way, we just know that he is. The character development is fabulous and how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter to wonders for the characterisation. The pacing is fantastic and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it’s a crazy ass ride.

I like the way that this is structured and how we see the layers within the story continuing to grow. With the way that everything is working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is marvellous to see.

Oh I love Andrea’s work and what we see here is incredible. The linework is fantastic and with the varying weights we see being utilised to create the detail work is pretty effin marvellous. Then to see how the backgrounds are being utilised to not only enhance the moments but also to create this great depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is gorgeous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a remarkable eye for storytelling. How he handles the colour work as well is divine. How the colour is chosen for which part within the panel is genius to me and then to see the various hues and tones throughout the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered beautifully.

This is such an unexpected treat for me. Who knew a story about a serial killer and the task force, which she lobbied hard to create, hunting him down would end up being one of the most entertaining reads around? Well Aftershock did obviously and this, this is why I read everything that comes down the pike from these folks. Creators and company respectively.