Death Sentence #2 (Titan)

Rating: 4.5/5 – A great character-driven comic with a unique hook.

I originally did an advance review of Death Sentence #1 back at the end of May, so it had been almost 5 months since I read that issue and I wanted to see if I was still feeling it for the series with #2 that came out this week.  I’m still loving it, the story of an STD that gives you super-powers while simultaneously giving you at most 6 months to live.

We continue to follow Verity Fette, artist and freelance designer; Monty Montgomery, manipulative media personality; and Weasel Waissel, rock musician.  We get a nice follow-up to the somewhat extreme situation we left Verity in last issue.  Verity has had the most interesting stuff happening to her of the 3 main characters so far, she’s left in a situation that is the single most compelling reason to pick up #3.  Monty has “super persuasion” and how he uses it on the police officers questioning him is as entertaining as it’s climax is crude.  Weasel’s mostly a super-douchebag, the least compelling of the three leads.

For an added bonus, look to the backmatter.  Writer Montynero delivers part 2 of his essay “Making Comics – A Practical Guide”.  In plotting, scripting, plotting technique, and mood he explores his process and finishes up with a lengthy section on writing scenes and dialogue.  I’m not looking to become a comics writer but I’m fascinated by learning about how professional writers do their job.  If you are interested in writing comics, this essay could be worth the price of the comic all on it’s own.

I’m guessing Titan Comics may be tough to get off the rack in some comics shops that tend to stick to the super-heroes, but it’s worth asking your story to order it special for you.   I think I know how it’s going to end and I’m enjoying the journey that we’re on as we learn more about the lead characters.

Reviewed by: Bob Bretall – bob@comicspectrum.com
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