The world hilariously expands.
Creative Staff:
Story: Art Baltazar & Franco
Art: Art Baltazar
What They Say:
Bliss! Love! Togetherness! Those are the ingredients of Grimmiss’s perfect life. But when the island’s peace is interrupted by the most evil and wicked beasts of all time—the dreaded Tiki Monoliths—Grimmiss must trade tranquility for adventure!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening issue of Grimmiss Island was definitely a delight as we were introduced to the main character’s creation and the way he managed to soothe the Volcano Goddess, which in turn provided a lot of salvation for the island as a whole. The book was surprisingly dense with as many characters and pieces that were introduced, which you realize even more so when you start picking through it and talking about the individual pieces. The book quickly became a family favorite as I passed it around, especially for my kids who are taking Spanish at varying levels in middle and high school. Sometimes things like this gives them a little more real world experience with it in a way and adds to their overall skill level.
This installment doesn’t come across quite as dense as the first one, but it covers a lot of ground and expands on the overall world that we’ve been introduced to. Because of the burning passion between Grimmiss and the Volcano Goddess, it’s caused other problems that have awoken the Tiki Monsters from their millennia long slumber ahead of schedule and they’re looking to kick some ass and take names. Which has them storming the island in a rather fun way. The problem is that they’re after Grimmiss and he’s somewhat out of commission due to being a bit sick as his temperature is all over the map after getting so close to the Volcano Goddess. Seeing the Woogee Priests doing their best to help and more works nicely to give them a piece of the action, especially since it goes for old school medical stuff while still feeling very “island” in its nature. The entire bit with Grimmiss wearing glasses is priceless.
When the Tiki Monsters do get to deal with Grimmiss, it stays comically large as it should, but it gets really fun when the Volcano Goddess comes to defend her guy. While she sets the tone, it’s Grimmiss’ new adventure that’s really hilarious as he’s tossed into the volcano and it takes him to the opposite end of the world, where he climbs out – upside down of course – to deal with an arctic tundra and a yet that he mistakes as a chupacabra. Thankfully the dialogue is kept easy to read and not upside down, but the yeti brings some fun snow material to the island through Grimmiss as they deal with the threat of the Tiki Monsters. It’s obviously quite goofy and silly with what it does, but it has so much great color and design, especially the fight sequence itself, that it’s just a pure delight to watch unfold – again, with Grimmiss wearing his newfound glasses.
In Summary:
After being utterly delighted by the first issue of this miniseries, the second installment manages to do it just as right while settling down in a way as it doesn’t have to introduce as much. We do get some fun in the snow with the yeti and I like the way they presented that, but this issue feels like it’s a lot more Grimmiss than the first issue and that works very well. The dialogue is fun and I can largely figure out the Spanish myself along the way, with some interesting translations being done online on the side, and I do wonder what I’m missing in those areas. But overall there’s just a whole lot of magical charm about this show that works very well and makes for an engaging, fun and very silly time with it. Very recommended.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: April 8th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
