In the previous issue, The Answer! #1, by Dennis Hopeless and Mike Norton, we were introduced to the two main characters of the series, the titular masked vigilante who calls himself The Answer, and a young woman with a genius-level intellect named Devin Mckenzie. While a quick look at this comic could give the impression that it’s another generic, formulaic superhero comic book, a more in-depth look at the writing and the characters within reveal The Answer! to be much more. The dialogue is often witty and humorous, and the interaction between headstrong, intelligent Devin and the equally headstrong and exasperated hero The Answer is highly amusing. This comic really does an excellent job of creating characters that are more than simple stereotypes.
I absolutely adore Devin Mckenzie, the young female genius who loves watching game shows and works as a librarian. She’s witty without coming across as obnoxious, and she has a startling amount of common sense for a female comic book character. She’s resourceful, and although she does occasionally need help from The Answer because she lacks physical prowess, her mental aptitude more than makes up for this, as she’s often able to handle problems well on her own. The Answer’s mysterious qualities also make him more appealing than your generic masked hero. While at first glance he may seem like a formulaic superhero, the story does a good job of setting him up to be something much more, and I’m excited to see what direction the writer will take with him in future issues.
The characters are one of the main reasons why I really liked the first issue of this series so much, but there are other appealing features too. It had good pacing, a lot of action, and some very clever dialogue between our heroes. Unfortunately, The Answer! Issue #1 set the bar so high that Issue #2 fell slightly flat in comparison. The pacing on this issue was slower, and most of the comic was devoted to dialogue with little action to be found. This issue really felt like it was laying the groundwork to set up for a dynamic third issue, so hopefully the pay-off will be worth the set-up established here.
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| Look exciting, huh? Too bad, you’ll have to wait until next time! The Answer Issue 2 page 24 by Mike Norton, from his deviantart page. |
The art is fine; nothing special but good in its own right. The character designs are all pretty unique and interesting, the backgrounds generally aren’t sloppy, but sometimes Devin’s face can sometimes get sort of distorted and exaggerated. That tends to be a typical problem with most comic book artists, though, so I still give the art a thumbs up.
Overall, The Answer! #2 didn’t quite bring the same level of action and intrigue as the first issue of the series, but it was still a pretty interesting read. This issue seemed to be more of a bridge between Issue #1 and Issue #3, as it spent a lot of time explaining events from the first issue and setting up the scenario that will take place in subsequent issues. Still, the next issue promises to be quite the mystery. I would still highly recommend picking up this series if you’re a fan of superhero comics and want to read something that’s unique and interesting. For $3.99, The Answer #2 is worth your time and money.
Spoon is the newest staff writer for the Red Shirt Crew, and she looks forward to devouring many, MANY more Dark Horse comics in the upcoming weeks.
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