Creative Staff:
Story:Jonathan Tsuei & Eric Canete
Art: Eric Canete
What They Say:
Cornered, wounded and unarmed. What will Rain do? Join us as Rain reveals that she is much more than a woman on the run.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
RunLoveKill hits the halfway point with this installment and it starts to answer some of the questions in a very roundabout and incomplete way. With it being the kind of book that’s going to tease some elements as long as it can, I’m not surprised. That the series is going on a brief hiatus makes it naturally frustrating, but only because I want more of it sooner rather than later. The story is most certainly the draw here but it’s one that’s made so much richer by the artwork and giving that the time to come out right is worth it. And hopefully some folks will check out the first trade that hits next month and will come back for more, as the story of Rain and the Origami is one that’s really interesting and worth spending time with.
What we get this time provides for some tasty morsels from the past as we see a younger Rain, likely in her tween years it seems, where we discover that she’s very skilled with playing a musical instrument but partially because of the intensity of her father in teaching her. There’s some instructive moments in seeing the relationship between the two, which colors her relationships with men in general, and knowing that she’s spent her life on the run since this moment is saddening to say the least. With Origami having found them and knowing what she is, they’re intent on bringing her back no matter who has to be taken out to do so. That her father is killed before her eyes is a huge open wound that will never really heal and not having the time to grieve immediately only makes it worse as his last words to her really are to run. And run she does, for years to come, killing and being the reason for others being killed along the way.
The present day part of the book takes up a good chunk of space as well, though it’s mostly action focused as the Origami forces close in on Rain. This has her putting up quite the fight and seemingly letting loose with a head popping kind of ability, or at least that’s how it appears from the intensely detailed and highly active panels we get, as she struggles with the realization again that she’s only going to have to keep doing this over and over as Origami never stops. The action is well done and it moves quickly, keeping it engaging with the movements and detail of it all. Dey gets a bit of time here as well, mostly as Janus seems to take a liking to pummeling him, and it’s good to see that he’s not giving up even after all that’s happened in trying to help her. Not save her, per se, but rather to support and help Rain with whatever it is that she’s going through.
In Summary:
RunLoveKill does some really fun things here overall, though most of what we get in the present is a semi-holding action with Rain defending and attempting to escape again. It’s beautifully illustrated and I liked what we got from the Origami side as they close in on her with how it’s presented, but I was hoping for a bit more forward motion. The flashback material is what sells it for me this time around as it’s a tantalizing look at what happened that set her on the path she’s on, though it doesn’t answer many questions and actually leaves you asking more. Seeing the way they’re after her from a young age and the intensity of the hunt now combined with the look at her abilities in brief here really ramps things up in a very good way. I just felt like it needed a little more meat and movement to push forward to the next level. Which I suspect we’ll get a good chunk with in the next issue.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 22nd, 2015
MSRP: $2.99