Rasputin: Russian peasant, mystical faith healer and private adviser to the Romanovs…oh, and according to writer Alex Grecian, has the ability to bring organisms back from the dead. Rad. Is it good?
Rasputin #2 (Image Comics)
Last issue we were privy to a bookended story where Rasputin sat down with his best friends for dinner. They unfortunately for him want him dead; a glass of poisoned wine was on its way to him and they were conspiring against him. The middle of the story outside these bookends showed a flashback to when Rasputin was a child and learned he could reanimate the dead. With our interest properly satiated, how’s the issue?
True-ish…
No disrespect meant to Grecian but the last issue, and even this issue, are mostly driven by fantastic art by Riley Rossmo. That’s partly because this is a slow boil story, so really we can’t give Grecian cred until this story is over. And believe me, he will get cred. The story is compelling because it’s teasing us to find out why Rasputin’s friends want him dead, how he got to where he was and what the heck is up with his powers. Meanwhile Rossmo is killing it on art. His style is paced fantastically, the look and feel is gorgeous and damn does it draw you in to want more.
Grecian does an interesting thing with this issue as we learn about a French man whom Rasputin befriends. It appears he draws him into the more complicated life outside of living in a shack in the wilderness. It also shows a brotherhood quality that links back to the friendship aspect of this series. He writes a fantastic Rasputin who’s wily and lithe. He’ll scrap and fight because he has nothing to lose anyway. This all builds as a character who has nothing to live for is the most dangerous, yet he still approaches his compatriots with care and kindness. This is a Rasputin you can relate to and root for.
The man loves to do an artistic drink.
The art by Rossmo continues to be excellent. The man can take a double page spread with four words and make it epic in nature. Just look at the image below—it captivates and screams the mood and demands the interest of the viewer. There’s a bar room brawl in this issue that should sate any action fan and it’s all done in a very kinetic and fun way.
Epic!
Is It Good?
This is an extremely well-plotted comic that should pique the interest of anyone.
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