Sheena Queen of the Jungle #2

Written by: Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujillo
Art by: Moritat and Dimi Macheras
Color by: Moritat and Casey Silver
Published by: Dynamite Comics

If there is one thing I have been enjoying from Dynamite Comics lately is their output of old properties that, at first glance, keep to the roots of the originals. This is the case with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. In the first issue, we were given a good sense of the world that Sheen currently inhabits from Bennett and Trujillo. It is squarely set in the modern world, as seen with all the drones, gadgets and artillery shown throughout the comic, but Sheena’s world is still that of the lost tribe undiscovered within the jungle.

This issue starts with what seems to be the discovery of the lost surveyor that Sheena was sent to track down by the paramilitary unit who are holding her village hostage. However, this man that she finds is not exactly who we thought he was going to be. It turns out that this man is in fact our mystery man from the first issue, by the name of Maciano. After the initial misunderstanding, both believing the other is from Caldwell, the employer of the paramilitary unit.

From here, Bennett and Trujillo choose to give the reader a lot of exposition about the predicament that Sheena is in: we learn that Caldwell is probably not the nicest of companies (see: paramilitary unit holding village hostage) and that they are prone to using underhanded tactics (see: lost surveyor) to take over land that does not belong to them.

Moritat continues to be exemplary this month, this time with the added help from Macheras. The plus in this is that it is barely noticeable that Moritat is not the only artist on this book - something that can’t always be said for books that have two artists. The art continues to be distinctly Moritat and that is never a bad thing.

Sheena Queen of the Jungle continues to be a joy to read. It gives off enough of the classic pulp feel without stagnating in the genre.