Escape From Monster Island #2 of 6.
Zenescope
Writer: Joe Tyler
Artist: Carlos Granda
Colours: Jorge Cortes
The second issue of Escape from Monster Island takes up where the first issue left off, with our intrepid explorers making their way to the laboratory to try to find life-saving research. What they discover there is another thing entirely. We are shown some more of the island's inhabitants and are given a taste of the history of what has led to the island's current state, as well as an unexpected surprise from a character's past making their presence felt.
Stylistically, the imagery is exactly as detailed as it needs to be to get the job done and not detract from the story at all. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of it as it feels like it was purposefully made to be exactly as detailed as it needs to be in order to be “acceptable” and and that's it. Carlos Granda's particular style isn't one of my favourites, but it's consistent here, so I can appreciate it. Jorge Cortes' colouring are also “standard” here, but the colouring fits the artwork well enough to keep it consistent.
Joe Tyler's pacing for the story is good. There are points where thingsa move slowly and points where things move faster. It's not all the single pace, despite being a work of fiction. I'm not hugely enamoured with the characters, but I'm not sure if they're written to be likeable or not. With that acknowledged, the story progresses well, with a good solid cliffhanger for the next part of this miniseries to pick up from.
For me, this would be a Borrow rather than a Buy. It's a good read, but it doesn't strike me as something I'll read more than once.
-Phillip Martin
