Second Coming: Only Begotten Son #06

Second Coming: Only Begotten Son #06

Ahoy Comics 2021

Written by Mark Russell

Layouts by Richard Pace

Finishes by Leonard Kirk

Coloured by Andy Troy & Paul Little

Lettered by Rob Steen

Season finale of the book The Hollywood Reporter calls "a surprisingly subtle and sensitive exploration of faith, hero worship, and the way both exist in today's popular culture." Stung by a painful failure, Jesus contemplates quitting Earth and moving back to Heaven. Meanwhile, an old enemy attacks Sunstar as Sheila goes into labor.

The opening here is practically perfect in every way as we see a group of Rabbis discuss stuff. That there’s always one of those in the group is beautifully demonstrated. While I’m sure there were those like that it is still kind of funny because we see people like more prevalent today than we’d care to see. I find it extremely interesting the parallels between the past and present and then by throwing in Sunstar and putting the superhero aspect alongside the religious one and both Jesus and Ken are learning more from each other with each issue and whether they realise it or not they’ve been influencing the way they think. It has been absolutely delightful to see as well.

I am thoroughly enjoying 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 exceedingly well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter. This keeps their ever changing, evolving personalities at the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story makes us want to learn and see more. I mean the conversation between God and Jesus only makes me want to see more of that.

I greatly appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I like how we see the layers opening up new avenues to be explored and those already opened still being explored as they all add this great depth, dimension 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 achieved.

The interiors here are fantastic. The linework is strong, clean and crisp with its varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work is extremely nice to see. We see some backgrounds being utilised and they manage to enhance and expand the moments nicely. They also 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. When Sunstar lands in Cherkya that first panel showcases everything I’m talking about. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. 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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I was skeptical when this was announced but after two arcs I have to admit it really is one of the more endearing titles that have been on stands. Everything within these pages whether we want to admit it or not is completely relevant today in ways that use humour to engage the reader. We become so engaged in the story and how it relates to how we see our world those around us it is easy to forget this is a work of fiction and that’s the biggest compliment I can give this. It’s phenomenally well written with excellent characterisation and some absolutely fine interior artwork.