My goodness, granny!
Creative Staff:
Story: Christopher Sebela
Art: Hayden Sherman
Colors: Hayden Sherman
What They Say:
Their only chance at survival got its head blown off, screaming bodiless robots are after them and enemy forces begin circling for the kill. The Cryonauts scramble for safety from the battlefield, led by kindly grandmother Vinh to higher ground as the dark secrets of this future war and the ones fighting it begin to reveal themselves.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening installment of this series set a bit of the tone with what to expect and Chris Sebela carries that through well here, while ensuring it doesn’t play out exactly the same. The focus on the character of Rook and setting him up as our eyes into this world was pretty nicely done and killing him off at the end was a great moment that shifted what would happen next. The book was fun in terms of story, leaving me with a whole lot of questions, but it was Hayden Sherman’s artwork that sold me on it in want a whole lot more. The second installment is largely more of the first with a few little teases of what may be going on but mostly just more time in the muck as the personalities there start to establish their position a bit more.
The chaos of the battlefield is exactly what continues here as we had that other force arrive at the end, the heads in the machines that are lumbering around and almost shooting wildly. The group that’s survived to now is still being whittled away but there’s always a personality that will step up to push back. That’s the minor mentioned character of Vinh in the first issue, the grandmother that kind of hung to the side but kept involved in staying alive. She’s taking more of a central role here in moving forward whether people go with her or not but she has a kind of commanding personality that draws most of them in. The action is chaotic, which I like, and it has a kind of edge to it with the bodies torn apart and the post-apocalyptic setting that’s come into focus so far. Vinh at the lead of it doesn’t stand out too much overall because of the costumes they wear but there’s definitely something that makes her stand out.
Vinh’s backstory is what drives the secondary plot here as we learn about her time five hundred years prior. Through this we see the tale of the woman who was the power behind the throne in a crime family that took center stage after her husband was killed and a whole lot of bad things went down. The trail of blood and bodies she left in going after those responsible as she sought out revenge for her and her family is nicely done and having it lead to the cryo chambers themselves with her target lost in the mix of people that had signed up was definitely an interesting thing. That she has no idea who, and that part of her memory being overwritten to deny her the truth, is a neat little twist and adds a really good energy and intensity behind her and the kind of violence she engages with.
In Summary:
While I would have liked to have had a bit more about what’s actually going on here, the second issue of Cold War keeps the momentum going from the first as it shifts to Vinh. The structure works well enough but avoids being a repeat of the first issue and that’s definitely a whole lot of fun to watch unfold. I do want to know more of the truth of the world and what’s going on but at the moment I’m enjoying the tour de force of chaos and creativity that Sebela and Sherman are employing here. I can easily see why this book may not be for everyone but it delivers something really fun for me and stands out even amid a pile of creative standouts that AfterShock has put together the last few years.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: March 14th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
