Buzzard! #2, Reviewed. It's Even Better Than the First!

With the weirdness out there still being extremely heavy, wouldn't it be great to have some visceral violence anime fueled, modern Britain set, oik led action-comedy distraction? Well, Andrea Wolf and Ezequiel Assis are here with Buzzard! #2, and it's even better than the first.

Our favourite arm-bladed gobshite super-assassin with a heart of gold returns in Buzzard! #2, in a second chapter that effortlessly bleeds through from it’s first. Buzzard! #2 jumps us right back into the life of Erik Lincoln as he continues his path to pro assassin status all in pursuit of a noble action, not that he’d admit it to anyone. Wolf Cave Comics will satisfy your anime blood lust with a monochrome delight that captivates with clinical continuation of art and story. There should still be time to heed the call or howl to Kickstarter to get yourself involved with the already fully funded project that promises and delivers so much.

So, I’m very pleased to say, let’s start with the art. Ezequiel Assis returns to dropkick your eyeballs with his stunning monochrome, clean-cut lined, visceral, violent anime art. It’s everything you’d expect after the first issue. This art demands attention and I stand by every word said in the review for issue one. Ezequiel provides in every panel wonderful delight, even more so at his most violent. There’s something very satisfying about this art, almost fulfilling. It’s a feast for the eyes that you can nibble at for as long as you can spare. There are some truly beautiful landscapes on display and superbly impassioned characters throughout this comic. The finer details of this art are equally excellent again, adding great depth to the distinctly bold style. This, for me, is a very British Manga and it really is frightfully spiffing. In particular, I’d really like to call attention to the panel of Erik and Kals first face to face interaction of this issue and by comparison to the Skewered British Beef panel. Which just perfectly displays the beauty of this art and the wonderful diversity the medium provides. These panels are more than worth the price of admission alone and we haven’t even got to the story.

Well, just like Ezequiel, Andrea Wolf takes up once more the reins of this breakneck speed story and uses this second chapter to build masterfully on this developing narrative. The story swan dives us back into the life of Erik Lincoln, the gobshite, the mouth, the blade, the boy with the most violent of good intentions. We get more of a glimpse into his life and that of sister Matties, with bread crumbs which also allude to their upbringing. The narrative of Mattie offers a wonderful exploration of the makings of Erik and in turn through him his deep love and idolisation and motivation. The opening duel narrative is expertly entertaining with its juxtaposition of teenage date, and teenager with blades in arms British Nazi hunting. The first issue could be described as breakneck, bonkers, high octane hijinks and by this measure issue two is a more considered development. It still has its moments but there are a few extra beats in between that wonderfully flesh out the narrative and cement concisely some truly intriguing parallel arcs that hint at the direction of this encompassing story. The main guts of the plot with Erik's jobs and his developing relationship with Kal offer great moments, whether it's arguing over titles or with the education in “tricks of the trade”.

Everything great about issue one is pushed along further while adding more depth, life and intrigue to this balls-out action-comedy. Stand out moments would include Erik's approach to education management, and very personally the return of my favourite spliff smoking scientists Alan and Carolyne, I hope they continue to make appearances. I felt some strong story questions here also like what is Benji after? What happened with Eriks “sensei”? Clarrisa Bellman, queen of the British Nazis? Also who exactly is Mattie communicating with at the end? It is dynamite storytelling and I really can’t wait to see where we go next.

Buzzard! #2 delivers everything you could hope for and more, setting itself up as a fascinating series to enjoy. There's no better time than right now as the Kickstarter campaign for issue two winds down with some really awesome rewards up for grabs. Especially now they have reached their first stretch goal meaning all physical backers get a free (extremely cool looking) mask. Winner winner… If you enjoyed issue one you’ll love this sequel. If this is the first you’ve heard of this blossoming beauty, have no fear as the campaign also includes rewards with both issues at ridiculously reasonable rates. Get over there if there's still time as you really won’t want to miss out on this excellent comic.

Review: 5/5