“I have a feeling things are about to go really, really, sideways.”
Creative Staff:
Story: G. Willow Wilson
Art: Christian Ward
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
What They Say:
A fierce beginning to arc two of the astronomical hit series! Desperate after a devastating battle, the Sundog is stranded and running out of fuel—and they turn to Vess’ breathtaking home planet of Rool for help. But just as unexpected bonds and newfound strength begin to reveal themselves . . . so does a new and terrifying gang of spacefaring renegades.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a three month hiatus between arcs, Invisible Kingdom returns and it doesn’t take long for them to get into a world of hurt. G. Willow Wilson definitely caught some magic in a bottle with the first arc and that first issue in particular, which has made for a lot of fans. Now, the tough part is really building and expanding on that which is what this issue really starts. Christian Ward most definitely was a big star in putting together the look of the series and giving it such smoothness and intrigue with all the little details. Everything that made the series exciting is definitely in place here with the familiar and the new, and a Vess without her hat on all that often either, something that’s definitely unsettling after being so used to it.
As is often the case after surviving the big bad situation, the Sundog and her crew now find themselves low on fuel and food and figuring out how to resupply is key. This isn’t quite as easy as it should be since they’ve lost a lot of support after what’s gone done, but I like the Vess forces them to return to her world as she’ll make sure they get a start there. It’s a complicated piece because of her position and what she’s left so there are a number of social issues that make her a real problem. But the one woman they deal with there takes her aside to dig into it all a bit more without the stress of the crowd. While they do get what they need – and told to never come back – the surprising takeaway comes from her recognizing that Vess has bonded with Grix. Not that Grix knows since it’s something that only Vess’ people really recognize it seems, but it’s certainly going to complicate matters.
Though the resupply is a temporary thing it does give them some room to figure out more of a plan next. Which gets sidelined first by Eline’s arrival on the bridge in regular clothes as she’s not part of corporate anymore, and the arrival of some pirates in the junk ring that surrounds this world. The book handles this kind of tension well with Wilson having them react in ways that feel nature – and with Vess kind of getting tossed around – while trying to get a handle on it all. None of it goes right overall and Vess is late in giving them the key info they need, which gives the pirate captain just enough of an opening to come onto what he’s now claiming as his new ship. The crew of the Sundog was not going to have it easy but I had hoped they’d at least get moving to the next phase of the storyline once they got out of the system first.
In Summary:
I really enjoyed the first arc in the Invisible Kingdom and have no doubt that I’ll enjoy what’s to come as well. A lot of the initial appeal was exploring Vess and the whole thing she had eagerly walked into as her calling and I’m really curious to see what Wilson and Ward have in store with new places, people, and organizations along with worlds to explore. This installment has some really good character material but it also leans to the familiar with the larger story elements that we’ve seen in many, many, science fiction stories. The quirks definitely help with the cast and what we know so far so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how this team expands upon it.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics / Berger Books
Release Date: October 30th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
