Wonton Soup New Edition HC Preview

 

 

Is there anyone who doesn't like James Stokoe's stories? His Godzilla: The Half-Century War was an authoritative statement about the King of the Monsters. His Orphan and the Five Beasts series was a definitive, over-the-top homage to Kung-Fu theater. (The sequel, Bath of Blood, is currently hitting comic shops). What other great James Stokoe stories can readers look forward to?

Here's all the info from Oni Press: 

WONTON SOUP NEW EDITION (Hardcover)

Coming June 6th, 2026

Space! Clones! Aliens! Noodles! Join Johnny Boyo, a former culinary student as he seeks out extraordinary adventure and intergalactic entrees as a cosmic truck driver along with his troublesome pal Deacon. 

For fans of Tampopo and Cowboy Bebop, revisit the mania that is WONTON SOUP in a new, large hardcover edition featuring a brand-new cover from madcap artist and writer James Stokoe! Prepared with unhinged love and care from the lunatics at Oni Press! Get it while it’s hot!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Oni Press for sharing this preview with us.

 

Creepshow Vol 3 #1 Review

 

Writers: Chip Zdarsky & James Stokoe

Artists: Kagan McLeod & James Stokoe

Letterers: Pat Brosseau & James Stokoe

Cover Artists: Martín Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran; James Stokoe; Steve Beach

Editor: Ben Abernathy

Designer: Jillian Crab

Production: Richard Mercado

Masters Of Horror: Greg Nicotero & Brian Witten

Additional Creep Art: Michael Broom

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 25, 2024

 

Stories remind us of our communal past and teach us how to function within society. But what happens when we embrace stories that break the strictures we live by? Let’s grab our paint sets and carving tools, leap into Creepshow Vol 3 #1, and see!

 

Story: Let ‘Er Trip

Jane Miller craves order and calm. She suppresses her imagination and discourages creativity. So when Jane's daughter Mary grows up and leaves home, Jane gets angry. Naturally, the police refuse to help. They're just like her coworkers in the office, who only obey the rules when it suits them and don't understand how society should function. Chip Zdarsky’s story in Creepshow Vol 3 #1 ponders what happens when we violate another person’s right to view the world in the way they choose. It’s easy to belittle those who refuse to see things our way. But those who bind themselves in the heaviest chains may do so for a reason.

 

Art: Let ‘Er Trip

When Jane studies her daughter's art, Jane's lips form a line, and she presses her fingers against her head. Then, the first page fast-forwards as Jane slips on her coat to visit the police station. The color of her sweater may have changed, and grey streaks her square-cut brown hair, but she still wears a buttoned-up long-sleeve dress shirt, jeans, and boots. While Jane inhabits a world of textured color, white dots glow in the pink and blue sky above the Higher Heart's old farm buildings and the broken-down school bus. The cult leader may resemble Ben Franklin but doesn't practice the American founder's famous thrift in his red-lit home. Intriguingly, and despite her taste in art, Mary dresses less colorfully than her strait-laced mother.

 

 

Story: Scrimshaw

When a reporter hunts for a story about a remote island, the locals point him toward a lobster potter. In this second tale in Creepshow Vol 3 #1, the reporter finds the man at the Cutty Sark and asks him to share his story. The man seems reluctant but obliges when the reporter insults his town and helps himself to the man's beer. One night, while checking his pots, the lobsterman found a severed arm. Someone had carved a story onto the exposed radius and ulna. The lobsterman’s mind filled with visions of a Navigator fighting a storm to return home.

 

The lobsterman lived alone in his beach shack. He identified with the Navigator’s struggle and couldn’t banish the vision from his head. So, fate rewarded him with another chapter etched into a severed leg. Yet, like Herman Melville's novel Mardi, the Navigator’s seemingly unending tale stoked the fisherman's hunger for more. So, like any captivated reader, the fisherman sought out more chapters about his hero. James Stokoe’s story speaks to our insatiable hunger for a good story and reminds us how stories can usurp reality.

 

Art: Scrimshaw

The Creep hovers over the forested island guarded by a lighthouse. Inside the pub, the reporter extends a hand to the bedraggled lobsterman. In his tale, the lobsterman reaches into his pots and studies a severed arm before a full moon. Waves roil behind him. Tendrils of water fill the air as if the storm-tossed saltwater were transforming into a leviathan. James Stokoe’s red and blue ocean scene evokes blown glass and contrasts with the red-haired lobsterman's nights in the orange pub. In this richly drawn and colored tale, as the lobsterman again searches his pots beneath a green sky, red and blue letters slash diagonally across a panel. When the lobsterman sees a green figure with pink eyes crouching amid purple waves, red and blue briefly obscure the background. An aurora brightens the already colorful sky as the creature tosses the lobsterman a severed leg.

 

Lettering

Pat Brosseau lavishes black, uppercase words in white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes on Let 'Er Trip. Music notes accompany a voice lifted in song in Creepshow Vol 3 #1’s first twisty tale, and the swirls of color filling the air infect the splat-like balloons. James Stokoe’s expressive uppercase letters in Scrimshaw offer a handwritten appeal. The dialogue and narrative range in size, while abundant sound effects heighten the lobsterman’s infectious story. Thanks to Image Comics and Skybound for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

People who hunger for more than they need pay for their greed, while those who seek the benefits of conventional society discover a world beyond anything they imagined in Creepshow Vol 3 #1.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1 Review

 

Writers: Declan Shalvey, Dave Baker, Jesse Lonergan, Gigi Dutreix, Lorenzo Hall, Paulina Ganucheau

Artists: Declan Shalvey, Jesse Lonergan, Gigi Dutreix, Paulina Ganucheau

Letterer: Nathan Widick

Cover Artists: Declan Shalvey, James Stokoe, Paulina Ganucheau, Dan Berger

Publisher: IDW

Price: $5.99

Release Date: May 8, 2024

 

Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo form an effective crime-fighting team. Yet what might the heroes in a half-shell get up to on their own? Let’s grab a pizza, leap into the four stories in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1, and find out!

 

Green Screen

Story

Donnie wants to track all the crime reports in New York City. But the perfect algorithm eludes him. So, he blocks out the world while he sits before his computer monitors, wrestling code to compute the most effective way to fight crime. Declan Shalvey's story is aptly named. Once exclusive to TV and film studios, now everyone can use green screens to simulate reality. It takes Master Splinter to point out the obvious. His team needs him, even if only to prevent the pizza from getting cold.

 

Art

Declan Shalvey opens his story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1 with a shot of NYC skyscrapers. The TCRI building rises in the center of the panel. He then moves to a dog, walking on a leash with his owner. Shalvey follows with a shot of the subway before finishing with Donatello hunching toward four monitors, surrounded by pizza boxes, drawings, and his bō. The progression suggests his mutant heritage forced him to live underground, so Donatello works hard to justify his relevance to civilization. Once he realizes where he belongs, Donatello moves swiftly to catch up with his brothers. He peers down into a warehouse where his brothers battle an enormous enemy. Cowabunga!

 

Nathan Widick fills white dialogue balloons with large green uppercase letters in Green Screen and shares Donatello's thoughts with light green lowercase type in green narrative boxes. The letters are less distinct as if printed on a dot matrix printer.

 

The Brutal Sword Of Leonardo

Story

Dave Baker and Jesse Lonergan contribute a sword and sorcery tale to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1, as Donatello's experiment with interdimensional travel goes wrong. Or perhaps it goes right, as Leonardo arrives in a land that needs him. Leonardo bands the locals together, battles the monsters that beset them, and protects the Crystal Shard Of K’azz that powers their citadel. When a foe steals the crystal, Leonardo leads a quest to reclaim it. Baker and Lonergan's story reminds us how circumstances mold us and how power deludes us into believing we are indispensable.

 

Art

The Brutal Sword Of Leonardo may only be seven pages, but Jesse Lonergan packs each with a rampaging horde of panels to give his story an epic feel. Leonardo wields a broadsword and leads his animal friends through many dangers to the keep of Castle Death. The fantasy characters, settings, and situations evoke stories from Robert E. Howard, Mike Mignola, H. P. Lovecraft, and J. R. R. Tolkien. While I agree with his brothers that NYC needs Leo, I'd love to see a sequel. As Jesse Lonergan lavishes green on his art, Nathan Widick fills white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with large, black uppercase letters. 

 

 

 

The Flame That Fuels You

Story

Raphael tried to combat the Foot Clan alone. His brothers came to his aid, but it didn't go well. As they return home, the turtles are wounded and frustrated. Did Raphael forget he was part of a team? Raphael dreams of fighting alone in Gigi Dutreix and Lorenzo Hall's story. Now, he doesn't have to play by their rules. What might he accomplish if he didn't have to coordinate with others and could fight crime without restraint?

 

Art

Gigi Dutreix’s ink wash art gives Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1 a ghostly appearance. With arrows protruding from their arms and the wind buffeting their bodies, the turtles shout at each other and exchange blows. Yellow-green flames surround Raphael as he sleeps and burn at panel edges as he dreams. The flames swell to an inferno as Raphael demonstrates his might. Yet a significant realization banishes the yellow-green flames, replacing them with a vibrant green plant. Nathan Widick fills yellow-green dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters. Anger swells dialogue and prompts color change, while immense sound effects enhance the action in Raphael's dream.

 

Identity Theft

Story

Michelangelo brings Donatello a substance in a jar. Mikey accuses him of playing with snot, but Donatello can’t be bothered, so Mike grabs another of Donatello’s inventions. Donatello doesn’t crave solitude in Paulina Ganucheau’s story, so he plays videos of his brothers’ antics as he works. Then he realizes they’re having too much fun with his invention, and he leaves his lab to make sure he doesn’t miss out.

 

Art

Paulina Ganucheau imbues this story about a young inventor with an all-ages appeal. This final story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1 focuses on the turtles' camaraderie and doesn't take itself too seriously. Green fills Donatello's cellphone screen, his jar of goo, and what happens when his experiment takes on a mind of its own. Nathan Widick brings more green uppercase letters to white dialogue balloons, while the recorded videos speak with black uppercase dialogue in white balloons with green lines. Sound effects boost the fun quotient of Identity Theft as Donatello's creations attack their creator with snotty fists of fury.

 

Thanks to IDW for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

The stories in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1 ponder the most effective means of crime-fighting, the influence of power, and how creation often springs from mistakes. Donatello dominates this quartet of turtle tales, reminding us how his genius helps the team battle their superpowered foes.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

To preview interior art for "Green Screen" see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

Transformers #5 Review

 

Writer & Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson

Colorist: Mike Spicer

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer; James Stokoe; Orlando Arocena; Natacha Bustos; Karl Kerschl

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: February 14, 2024

 

Sparky Witwicky felt the call of duty. Like many veterans, he returned from the battlefield a haunted man. He lost his oldest son in a NASA shuttle accident. Then, the Transformers brought their war to him. The giant robots killed his best friend, put his surviving son Spike in the hospital, and left his hometown in flames. Where does Sparky go from here? To whom can he look for support during this traumatic time? Let’s recharge our Energon batteries, leap into Transformers #5, and follow Sparky's transformative journey!

 

Story

Sparky and Optimus Prime relive the horror of battle. One tour broke Sparky while Optimus' war rages on. Sparky doesn’t care about the issues that divided the Autobots and the Decepticons. All Sparky knows is that he tried to kill Optimus Prime, and the Autobot leader risked his life to save his son.

 

Starscream is all about sacrifice. He'll readily sacrifice anyone who fails him for an advantage that will help him succeed. After Optimus prevailed over Skywarp, Starscream sacrificed Skywarp’s Energon to power Teletraan 1. His lieutenant Soundwave then used the Ark’s computer system to revive other Decepticons. Hopefully, ones that won’t fail Starscream like Skywarp. Just one stipulation: they’d better be big! Bigger bots get you more bang for the buck on the battlefield, right?

 

Brains prove as potent as brawn in Transformers #5. Starscream attacked the energy plant where Sparky worked, but he didn’t channel the power at its source. Nor did he play nice with the squishy Humans and harness their ingenuity. Genius inventor Wheeljack recognizes Sparky's brilliance by partnering with him to revive the Autobots. So, Optimus Prime wins again because he sees more opportunities in accepting others than in squashing dissent and obliterating those who disagree with him. But don't expect that to dissuade Starscream from hosting another “Murder party.”

 

Daniel Warren Johnson contrasts the heart of the Autobots with the shrieking void inside Starscream. It’s not just Optimus Prime who thinks their fragile new friends are special. The Humans repeatedly tried to kill Cliffjumper, yet the smaller bot kept trying to help them. Another Autobot demonstrates an even greater instinct to save their new allies in Transformers #5. All the Autobots seek to include and protect Sparky and Spike's friend Carly as their clashes with the Decepticons rage on. Even if the Humans are smaller and weaker, the Autobots discover they have far more in common with them than the Decepticons.

 

Art

Daniel Warren Johnson interposes and compares Sparky and Optimus Prime’s memories of battle and loss as Transformers #5 begins. Yet Sparky sits before the computer systems in the Power Station. With his hands clasped, he stares at his toolbox. With his back to the Human, the Autobot leader gazes through the control room’s cathedral-like windows. When the two return to the dam, Sparky and Wheeljack apply the finishing touches to their joint creation. Like Hoover Dam in the 2007 Transformers movie, the hold of the Ark resembles the C17 Globemaster III that transported a broken and beaten Optimus Prime in Revenge Of The Fallen. Only Starscream bestows rebirth upon his fellow Decepticons in the Ark instead of the desert.

 

Sparky and Wheeljack’s invention spins at frantic velocity as it powers up. Just as Dr. Frankenstein relied on electricity to reinvigorate the dead, lightning surges around the Autobot that Optimus hopes to revive. Clashes between the Autobots and Decepticons remain as brutal as ever. The Decepticons hurtle through the air in a blur, disintegrate before energy blasts, or maul and crush the Autobots in their surprise attacks. Yet Cliffjumper and Carly stand together, their expressions equally concerned and determined. 

 

Mike Spicer's vibrant coloring breathes drama into Optimus and Sparky’s Power Room scene. Sparky and Wheeljack’s creation unleashes a tornado of blue. Explosions and fire bathe the dam in yellow, orange, and red. The Autobot that Optimus revives shares body color with Carly's pullover. Yet, panels that spotlight a leader's defining action replace backgrounds with white in Transformers #5.

 

Italicized uppercase dialogue dominates white and colored balloons and boxes. Rus Wooton emboldens the delicate font for intonation. Large-scale colored dialogue communicates shouts, concern, and outrage. Sound effects conquer backgrounds, conveying blows, cannon fire, and Michael Bay levels of destruction. Yet the red letters that fill the Ark's interior remind us of Skywarp’s unwilling sacrifice and how Starscream values the Decepticons in his care. Thanks to Skybound and Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As Optimus Prime and Starscream race to revive their armies, Transformers #5 asks if war is an inevitable outcome of sentience and reminds us that good things come in all shapes and sizes.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Deviant #2 Review

 

Writer: James Tynion IV

Artist & Colorist: Joshua Hixson

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Cover Artist: Joshua Hixson; James Stokoe; Alex Eckman-Lawn; David Talaski;

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 20, 2023

 

Michael interviewed Randall Olsen in prison. Yet he’s unsure why he wants to write about the convicted murderer. Many others have covered the horrific events that took place at Randall’s Murder Barn in 1973. How will Michael’s story be different? Let’s ring in the scary holiday season, peer inside The Deviant #2, and find out!

 

Story

Michael is scared. As he confesses to Tyler, he’s struggling to peer into his soul. Randall has always insisted upon his innocence. The aging convict threatened to stop talking with Michael unless he knew what story he wanted to write. Michael has an inkling of the tale he wants to tell. But will Randall cooperate if Michael's story doesn't proclaim his innocence?

 

In pursuit of his story, Michael visits Paul in Milwaukee. The older man feels a connection to Michael through sharing his story. It’s a story etched upon his face, thanks to the “fag Santa” that attacked him fifty years ago. Paul wants to share his struggles and how his wife helped him look at a Christmas tree without being haunted by memories of the two murdered and mutilated boys. But when Paul realizes who Michael is, he suspects the young man may not share his concerns. Abashed, Michael returns to Randall Olsen. But will Randall help with the story Michael wants to write?

 

Michael has some growing up to do in The Deviant #2. His first tentative steps include grappling with real-world stories about issues that concern him. Michael is also throwing down the gauntlet with himself by taking a hard look at his past. Still, as James Tynion IV makes clear, Michael needs to decide who he is. Like Paul, Michael must finally stand behind his choices and accept where they place him in society. If Michael can do that, he stands a good chance of elevating himself above "shi**y comic bloggers" and writing a story worth telling.

 

 

 

Art

Michael looks uncomfortable in his skin as he gazes anywhere but at his partner. He's gazing inward in their cozy, sparsely furnished apartment. By contrast, Tyler's love for Michael shines brightly, as does his lust for life. Their spindly Christmas tree in The Deviant #2 compares poorly with Paul's. But then, the elder with a scar etched across his face raised a loving, supportive family in his big, impressive house.

 

Most curious of all is the comfort Michael finds in Randall's presence. The aging convict seems amused by Randall. The comic writer is struggling to find his story. Yet Michael shows discomfort as he sits outside on a metal seat. As snowflakes swirl around him, wafting toward the concrete pad, Michael senses a link with the man, whose face betrays far more lines than the one Paul tries to hide.

 

 

 

Joshua Hixson’s coloring imbues The Deviant #2 with holiday cheer. Faces appear overexposed as if lit by an inner glow. Hixson’s loaded palette gives life and vitality to each page. When he uses gray in this thought-provoking holiday saga, it never overwhelms or muddies his artistry.

 

Giant white letters introduce the locations in The Deviant #2. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s large black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons are easy to read. Aside from portraying a doorbell, Tynion IV gives him few opportunities to dazzle us with sound effects. But then, this issue focuses less on action than peering into the depths of Michael’s soul.

 

Thanks to Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Michael’s attempt to write about the horrific murder of two department store elves shines a spotlight on the ambiguity of his life--and the way politics and culture often divide us--in The Deviant #2.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Godzilla by James Stokoe Deluxe Edition HC Review

 

Writer, Artist, Colorist, Letterer, & Cover Artist: James Stokoe

Color Assistant: Heather Breckel

Publisher: IDW

Price: $39.99

Release Date: September 13, 2023

 

Lieutenant Ota Murakami had served the Japanese Self-Defense for nearly two years when he arrived in Tokyo in 1954. Instead of supplying disaster relief, he found a monster demolishing Japan's capital city. What can he and his platoon do against a dinosaur that breathes energy beams at its attackers? Let's leap into Godzilla by James Stokoe Deluxe Edition HC and find out!

 

Story

Ota and his friend Kentaro watch Godzilla take out the rest of their platoon. The energy blast damaged their antenna. After “Old Ken” fixes it, they receive orders to assist with the civilian evacuation. Despite Ken’s reservations, Ota orders him to delay the monster any way they can. They rumble through the debris-filled streets in their banged-up Sherman tank, playing Mouse to Godzilla’s Cat.

 

 

 

In Godzilla by James Stokoe Deluxe Edition HC, Ota and Ken battle the monster as the decades pass. They serve under Colonel Schooler of the A. M. F. or the Anti-Megalosaurus Force. Their travels take them to Vietnam in 1967, Ghana in 1975, Bombay in 1987, and beyond. Despite the scientists’ ingenuity, Ken increasingly views Godzilla as a force of nature. No matter what weapons the A. M. F. deploys, Godzilla and his menacing companions fail to die.

 

Oops! Did I mention other monsters? Sadly, not all scientists prove as ethical as Ota and Ken. One invents a device that summons kaiju, which causes chaos wherever the A. M. F. goes. Monsters wake up or even arrive from other planets. Despite the increasing threat—or perhaps because of it--Ota and Ken forsake family, advancement, and financial security as they devote their lives to planetary defense. It’s Monster Versus Humans and Monster Versus Monsters in Godzilla by James Stokoe Deluxe Edition HC. 

 

 

 

Art

No artist packs more detail into pages than James Stokoe. Panels show a cast of thousands fleeing Godzilla on foot and in vehicles. The original kaiju reigns supreme, showing every tooth, claw, and scale as he demolishes buildings with little effort. Stokoe’s quirky characters are expressive, and the scientist’s inventions feature fun designs.

 

No colorist makes pages come alive like James Stokoe. Some panels ring with manifold color, while others glow with just a few. Although he’s not afraid to use gray, Stokoe’s images exhibit psychedelic appeal. He often provides good contrast, such as when Ota and Ken's green tank races through lavender streets, hoping to escape the storm of yellow and red chasing them. Others work less well, such as when Colonel Schooler tries to evade falling debris bathed in red.

 

 

 

No letterer creates white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes like James Stokoe. Although he places letters and rows close together, his uppercase black letters are easy on the eyes. Sound effects explode across panels to enhance the action, as over-the-top as the Godzilla film franchise. Chapter titles reveal ingenuity, and the giant block letters for the silent story “Godzilla In Hell” would make cinema-goers cheer.

 

The Godzilla by James Stokoe Deluxe Edition HC includes covers for each issue and examples of his penciled and inked art.  

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While delivering the city-destroying action movie fans expect, Godzilla by James Stokoe Deluxe Edition HC honors the original film's symbolism by framing a half-century of kaiju devastation through the eyes of Humanity's staunchest defenders.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

Review: Orphan and the Five Beasts #2

 

Orphan and the Five Beasts #2: Virgin Art

In writer, artist, and letterer James Stokoe's new series Orphan and the Five Beasts #2, Orphan Mo combats a powerful adversary. We don't know his given name, only the name by which he is now known: Thunder Thighs. From the virgin art for issue #2, you can see why.

Before little Mo takes on this Goliath-like combatant, she remembers what her beloved Master told her about him.

Before he took in Orphan Mo, her Master once trained five apprentices to safeguard their land against the ravages of an invading warlord. Of the five, Thunder Thighs was the Master's most powerful. He trained harder and longer than any of his fellows.

 

 

Due to his inclination toward lower body strength, the Master gifted Thunder Thighs the supreme leg aspect. With this and his rigorous training, Thunder Thighs became the living embodiment of the "Two Trees Bearing Heaven" style.

Unfortunately, the warlord then ravaging the valley caused too much suffering. Like his apprentices, Thunder Thighs didn't have time to complete his training. He lacked the mental, emotional, and spiritual disciplines necessary to temper his insatiable physical drives. He and his fellow students were rushed into the battle.

 

 

After achieving victory against the warlord, he and his fellows assumed the danger was over, and they needed no more of their master's training.

Nonetheless, Thunder Thighs had a conscience. Unlike his fellows, who went their separate ways, and did not return to their master, Thunder Thighs worried about the defeated army. If he left them to their own devices, what would prevent the soldiers from becoming bandits, and causing even more suffering in their land?

So Thunder Thighs took on the responsibility of becoming their leader. He started off with the noble goal of mobilizing them as a Robin Hood-like figure. Instead, over time his unprincipled followers influenced him, and his overwhelming physical prowess eventually dominated him.

There's a lot to like in Orphan and the Five Beasts #2. In addition to learning Thunder Thighs' origins, you'll also enjoy Mo's incredible battle with him. James Stokoe's penciling and inking are beyond par, and his coloring style is refreshingly unique. 

 

 

I also like the little touches, such as the mazes behind Thunder Thighs (with icons of trees and a pillar) pointing to his upper legs, as well as the way he obscures the identities of the master's former apprentices. 

 

We don't learn anything of Orphan Mo's past in issue #2, but the fact that she's been a patient student becomes obvious. While Thunder Thighs relies on bluster and brute force from his legs, Mo fights a thoughtful, innovative battle. Even when the fight takes a wild and unexpected turn, she doesn't lose focus or hope. She adapts, and battles on.

 

 

As to lettering, I wish James Stokoe had made his narrative boxes a little bigger, and spaced out the lines a little more. Still, his dialogue balloons work well, and become especially fun when Thunder Thighs starts bullying poor Mo. And then, there are his expressive sound effects.

Orphan and the Five Beasts #2 serves as an cautionary tale of the danger inherent in rushing to achieve success before you're really ready for it. It features an intense and mind-blowing battle. It could easily serve as the basis for the most incredible martial arts fantasy movie you might ever see. 

Thankfully, we can look forward to two more issues in this short series. I wonder how  Orphan Mo can possibly vanquish the other beasts her master's former apprentices have become. Even more important, can she find a solution that doesn't create another future danger to her land?

 

The projected release date for Orphan and the Five Beasts #3 is June 2, 2021. This gives you plenty of time to hunt around your local comic shops, and pick up the previous issues, if you have not yet done so. 

I recommend asking your local comics shop to order your copy of Orphan and the Five Beasts #3 before this coming Monday, May 10th, which I believe is the FOC, or Final Order Cutoff. This is the final day your shop can order copies before Diamond ships them. That way, in case your retailer naturally scales down his orders for later issues in a series, you can make sure you'll get a copy.

 

Orphan and the Five Beasts Issues #1 & 2

 

After all, in addition to James Stokoe's story, you wouldn't want to miss out on what promises to be a beautiful four-part interlocking cover, would you?

Dragon Dave

P.S. Orphan and the Five Beasts #2 is in shops now, and available from Dark Horse Comics. The Previews World order code for Orphan and the Five Beasts #3 is MAR210286.