Prepare your visual senses for a mesmerizing experience into the unknown in Image Comics’ Step by Bloody Step #2. The first issue introduced us to a little girl and her giant robotic armored protector as they wandered in the snow on a mysterious alien planet in the middle of winter. Step by Bloody Step #2 advances the story by a few years. The unnamed girl is now a young lady, still exploring unfamiliar territories while eluding an evil army that seems to be trying to track them down.
What makes Step by Bloody Step #2 so great, like its predecessor, is that the ongoing story is left to the reader’s interpretation. There are no captions, dialogue, or locations given throughout the story. All we know so far is that a young girl and her armored bodyguard are traveling across dangerous lands where they encounter all kinds of creatures, people from different species and are stuck in the middle of an ongoing war with a militant group that looks like a combination of the Sith and Ronan the Accuser from Guardians of the Galaxy.
The young girl is growing up in this issue, and Si Purrier and Matias Bergara use this as an opportunity for character growth and to capture readers emotionally by showing her go through good and bad moments in their travels. One minute she and her armored giant are running from a demolition convoy of military men sweeping an entire area inhabited by various people. The next, we see her enjoying a sunny moment sitting on the beach and experiencing sand for the first time. And it wouldn’t be a good story without some humorous moments to show you small bits of defiance between the girl and her giant — after all, she is growing up, and at some point, we all start to clash with our guardians.
But through the trials and tribulations that the girl and her protector go through, you can see the giant’s love for this girl. You can see that this giant would die to protect this young woman, and that is just one of many emotions you will come to reflect upon as you read this series. Aside from that, the issue has fantastic pacing and will riddle you with questions you’ll be dying to know the answers to. This is a series worth checking out and reading multiple times.
The artwork, much like the first issue, is out of this world. You’re fully engaged in a wonderfully created land of a million possibilities. Artist Matias Bergara takes full advantage of making inventive and visually stunning art choices that will leave readers’ jaws on the floor, like enormous battleships destroying civilizations or vile creatures trying to gobble up our heroine as she tries to enjoy a day on the beach.
Step by Bloody Step #2 is another masterpiece in this series. Each panel not only drives the story forward but makes its way into your heart as well. It’ll be interesting to see where the story takes our two main protagonists next and the dangers that await them. It’s amazing how a comic can leave such a lasting impression without saying a single word.
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