Return To Skull Island #2 Review

 

Writer: Simon Furman

Artist: Christopher Jones

Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff

Letterer: Andworld Design

Editor: Louis Yamani

Designer: Dan Bura

Cover Artists: The Knott, Christopher Jones & Diego Yapur

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 6, 2025

 

Charlie provoked a fight between Kong and the Kraken to save his friends. The Human inhabitants of Skull Island regard Kong as their king. So Kaia, their queen, is displeased that Charlie would endanger the giant ape. When she sacrifices him to the beasts, Charlie's father rescues him. But now they are both prisoners of Kaia. And while Kong triumphed over the Kraken, he is now injured. Can Charlie and his dad appease Kaia? And can they help heal Kong? Let's grab our weapons, leap into Return To Skull Island #2, and see!

 

Story

Giant insects, carnivorous plants, and prehistoric animals call Skull Island home. It's a toxic mix, particularly when you consider its Human inhabitants. But Kong keeps everything in balance. At least he used to. Now Kong sits in a cave. While Kaia's people tend his wounds, the Kraken's poison flows through his veins. Each time another giant animal, bug, or insect attacks her people, Kaia reminds Charlie how he endangered her tribe. Charlie may not be a college student yet, but her lesson is starting to sink in.

 

While Skull Island shakes and roils, Annie struggles to fit in back home. She's been alone for so long that Irene feels more like her jailer than her mother. And this new life, where she must attend school and obey society's rules, feels more like a prison. But then, things aren't any easier for Irene in Return To Skull Island #2. She lost her husband and child. Irene told herself they were gone forever. Suddenly, she has her daughter back. Yet all Annie wants to do is return to Skull Island.

 

While Simon Furman transports us between Skull Island and the United States, he leavens the action and drama with humor. Still, we see that everyone on Skull Island is in peril. In the United States, everything hinges on Irene finding a way to protect her daughter from her short-sightedness. On Skull Island, Charlie assists the native inhabitants he has endangered, while his father helps tend to Kong’s wounds. But in Return to Skull Island #2, everything hinges on Kong. Charlie hopes Kong will arise to put all the animals and wildlife in check. But Kaia senses a greater evil than another monster like the Kraken.

 

Art

Mike and Annie find their new gray, white, and blue school uniforms constraining. Outside the gray and terracotta Cooper Academy, the green lawns, bushes, and trees beneath the cloudy blue sky evoke Annie’s former home. Charlie Kirchoff links Irene’s red SUV with the blood splattering an animal that used to live in harmony with her tribe. Pink and gray surround Kaia as she reenacts Han Solo's rescue on Hoth in reverse. But after she leaves, dark specks rise from the slain animal and drift over an orange centipede.

 

Christopher Jones contrasts Charlie’s nightmare on Skull Island with Annie’s struggles in suburbia. Like the imbalance on Skull Island, appearances can be deceiving in the place Annie came from. Irene and her new husband observe Annie sneak out of the house and race across the walled compound. The blue night sky outside the window contrasts with the purple, heavily inked figures inside the bedroom. Yet inside Irene and Sam’s red barn, Annie finds technological marvels in Return To Skull Island #2.

 

Andworld Design fills white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes with delicate italicized black letters. The letters grow bold for intonation and swell for raised voices. Creatures growl and roar as a native in a guard tower shouts words into spiky balloons. Sound effects fill panels as Something Wicked Looking This Way Comes. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Charlie doesn’t want to be on Skull Island while his dad loves it. Annie hates living in the place of her birth. Her mom looks on, feeling her dream of a happy future together dissolving. Return To Skull Island #2 reminds us of the sacrifices people often make to help a family member live their dreams. 

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Return To Skull Island #2.