The Makers #2 Review
Writer: Dave Howlett
Artist: Dave Howlett
The first debut issue of The Makers blew us away here at CTG and scored an impressive 9/10. This second issue is just as good as the first, carrying on all the things we loved about that first issue and expanding them even further. Three stories are being told simultaneously here, which at first glance are completely unrelated but under further examination are all telling the same story.
We enter the story with one of the comic strips from one of our main character artists. This time the character, Cinder, is a thinly disguised riff on The Thing from Fantastic Four. Rather than playing like a parody of the character, it feels like a more reverential homage to a classic character. On the one hand it reads like a classic Marvel story. Cinder works for E.O.D., a fictional superhero division, which has a darker side and is a parallel for the fictional Miracle Comics. This storytelling device was used effectively in the first issue and it remains a clever way to express the artists' thoughts and feelings.
That ties directly into the flashback where we learn a little more about how Attitude Comics was formed. Then we have the current story, where our artists have been kidnapped Galaxy Quest style, and the parallels between the comic strip and the artists' story resonate even stronger with this other story.
It’s cleverly done and very effective, more so perhaps than in the first issue, and filled with just as many if not more Easter Eggs than the first issue. I could wax lyrical about the Easter Eggs and references but the joy of them is finding them for yourself, turning the page, and discovering a new one. This is a comic for comic fans.
For spoiler reasons, I won’t delve into any details about the more modern storyline but it works well, including just enough surprises and twists to entertain readers. And the final page is guaranteed to shock readers and get them excited for the next issue.
Dave Howletts' art continues to impress, the way the styles change depending on which of the stories within stories he’s telling. The comic strip differs from the Spawn style in the first issue, the flashbacks read like old school comics, and the current storyline does a great job of aging the characters and having yet again another style.
Like the first issue, The Makers #2 is available from Gumroad here: https://gumroad.com/paskettiwestern
This comic really is one that comic fans don’t want to miss. The sheer number of Easter Eggs will have longtime comic fans grinning from ear to ear while more modern comic fans will still get a number of the references and it serves as a bit of a history lesson. But even beyond that, it’s a great story and the concluding page is sure to shock readers. So many clever storytelling methods are used, stories within stories, paralleling each other, it’s an incredibly clever and satisfying read. Dave Howlett is marking himself as an artist and writer to watch in the future.
Artist: Dave Howlett
The first debut issue of The Makers blew us away here at CTG and scored an impressive 9/10. This second issue is just as good as the first, carrying on all the things we loved about that first issue and expanding them even further. Three stories are being told simultaneously here, which at first glance are completely unrelated but under further examination are all telling the same story.
We enter the story with one of the comic strips from one of our main character artists. This time the character, Cinder, is a thinly disguised riff on The Thing from Fantastic Four. Rather than playing like a parody of the character, it feels like a more reverential homage to a classic character. On the one hand it reads like a classic Marvel story. Cinder works for E.O.D., a fictional superhero division, which has a darker side and is a parallel for the fictional Miracle Comics. This storytelling device was used effectively in the first issue and it remains a clever way to express the artists' thoughts and feelings.
That ties directly into the flashback where we learn a little more about how Attitude Comics was formed. Then we have the current story, where our artists have been kidnapped Galaxy Quest style, and the parallels between the comic strip and the artists' story resonate even stronger with this other story.
It’s cleverly done and very effective, more so perhaps than in the first issue, and filled with just as many if not more Easter Eggs than the first issue. I could wax lyrical about the Easter Eggs and references but the joy of them is finding them for yourself, turning the page, and discovering a new one. This is a comic for comic fans.
For spoiler reasons, I won’t delve into any details about the more modern storyline but it works well, including just enough surprises and twists to entertain readers. And the final page is guaranteed to shock readers and get them excited for the next issue.
Dave Howletts' art continues to impress, the way the styles change depending on which of the stories within stories he’s telling. The comic strip differs from the Spawn style in the first issue, the flashbacks read like old school comics, and the current storyline does a great job of aging the characters and having yet again another style.
Like the first issue, The Makers #2 is available from Gumroad here: https://gumroad.com/paskettiwestern
This comic really is one that comic fans don’t want to miss. The sheer number of Easter Eggs will have longtime comic fans grinning from ear to ear while more modern comic fans will still get a number of the references and it serves as a bit of a history lesson. But even beyond that, it’s a great story and the concluding page is sure to shock readers. So many clever storytelling methods are used, stories within stories, paralleling each other, it’s an incredibly clever and satisfying read. Dave Howlett is marking himself as an artist and writer to watch in the future.
A Look Inside
