If you think about it, when is love not a violent thing? It either plucks you right out of a good thing for a seemingly better one, or it rips your heart out. Enter Image Comics new series Violent Love, a crime drama about revenge and robbing banks set in the 70s. We loved the first issue; how about issue #2? Is it good?
Violent Love #2 (Image Comics)
So what’s it about? The very short summary simply reads:
Chapter 2: \”SEX & MONEY”
Why does this book matter?
Frank J. Barbiere writes a solid crime drama and that all starts with well-written dialogue. It’s natural, honest, and interesting as it progresses the character development. Then you have artist Victor Santos, who is capturing this period piece in a unique look that suits the time and place. Together they’re delivering a story that feels as true as the news today.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Just another day at the bank…
The summary sure hit the nail on the head with the sex part as there’s plenty of it in this issue. Daisy is a bit more grown up as she continues to seek the revenge of her murdered father. She’s shacked up with a guy she can trust as they rob banks to pool cash so that she can find the bastard who did her wrong. Santos does an exceptional job with the art, making the sex genuine, classy, and emotional. He makes it adult themed and ties it to Daisy’s emotional state as she does whatever she needs to in order to keep her ship going towards that road to redemption.
You get a sense that Daisy is a bit erratic, and that’s aided by the layouts which are cinematic and exceptional at pacing the story. There are many different techniques used in this issue, from a sketchy style to convey personality for Rock Bradley, to many mini panels to showcase the vivid horror of her father’s murder Daisy as she thinks of those moments. Props go to Santos’ use of color which are great too, especially in a shadowy scene as Daisy makes hasty exit.
We’re introduced to Agent Taylor, a CIA agent who was killed in Iraq, but brought back to life as a Cyborg-like creation. Semper Jr. fills this issue with interesting scenes, from Taylor freaking out with her newfound powers (who wouldn’t), to the arch-nemesis plotting further, to Cyborg sharing secrets of his powers only he knows about. Semper Jr. uses this new character to bring us into Cyborg’s world and ultimately gets Cyborg to open up emotionally in new ways.
Oh, wait!
It can’t be perfect can it?
There’s a quick reminder for a single page in this issue that this story is being told to a young girl that, based on the scenes around it, make you wonder if it’s an appropriate story to tell a kid. It bumps up against a sex scene and a girl bleeding out. Because we don’t check in on the “now” of the story it gets lost in the grand scheme of things. It’s a similar issue I had with the first issue and it appears to be continuing on as the narrative focuses on Daisy.
Is It Good?
Violent Love is an excellent crime story with a firecracker protagonist you won’t want to miss. Issue #2 continues to tell a visually striking story in line with cinematic counterparts.
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