“It’s Abbie’s job to smack the beasties.”
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Gene Ha
Color Assistance: Rose McClain
What They Say:
Mae’s prodigal sister Abbie is running from her past. She was the heroic savior of a fantasy world—that is, until it all came crashing down. Now she’s trying to pick up the pieces of her old life and help Mae take care of their sick father. But sinister creatures have followed her home, and they’re determined to get revenge.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening installment of Mae was quite the tour de force with what it presented us, taking the extra space and time to really dig into the characters in past and present to set up the situation. The result was a very busy book that asked a lot of questions and didn’t give much in the way of answers. But it didn’t matter much because it was the start and questions galore are desired since there was so much going on. With the second issue, Gene Ha again delivers quite the visual treat with his particular style of storytelling and flow, which can feel like a little much if you’re used to flying through simpler books, and it has that mild “sophomore slump” to it because it’s just doing what it needs to in order to get us to where we need to go next. It’s not trying to cram it all into one issue and I definitely appreciate that it worked the introduction over the first two issues.
With Abbie back in the world, and having survived quite the encounter that is giving Mae a clue as to what she’s really been through all these years, it’s fun watching her take in how the world is now. Simple things like big flat screen TVs compared to what she grew up with, the pleasure/horror of fast food, and the ease with which she can acquire a lot of goods that are valuable on the other side is fun. We see these silly moments and it provides for a good contrast to the darker side of her life when some of the enemies from the other side come through looking for Mae to take her down. Gene Ha handles it well in transitioning from simple shopping to going big against some dangerous opponents and all that it entails, including a fantastic splash page that provides a lot of impact.
What balances all of this is the time that we get with Mae as she has to deal with her younger sister, which is cute, and then the more problematic side of dealing with their father. He’s a problematic guy to be sure as we saw before and see again here, but when she reveals that Abbie is back you almost get a sense that he’s aware of where she’s been on some level or in some sense. He’s just a bit offbeat himself in his style of speech and that’s something that Ha works really well here. Mae also gets to the point where she’s ready to head on this journey with Abbie and seeing how she goes through some of her fears with Dahlia about it, and how Dahlia gives her something to give her courage, works to secure that relationship nicely – though it feels like Dahlia’s going to be left behind for a bit. All the right pieces are in place here and I can’t wait to see what the other side will be like.
In Summary:
The second installment of Mae hits all the right notes here as it works through a lot of stuff, some of which feels like it could have been extended to a third issue without any problems just to breathe a little more. We’ve got a good handle on our two leads of Abbie and Mae right now and there’s a lot of anticipation about what the next issue will bring as the move to the other side. Folks who enjoyed the first issue will definitely like what this one has in store as it expands and grows things naturally all while continuing with the great look and design that Gene Ha brings to life here.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 29th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
