Geiger‘s immersed readers in its post-apocalyptic wasteland since the original miniseries from Geoff Johns and Gary Frank debuted in 2021. Las Vegas became a kingdom of vice and killers. Mutant monsters roam the irradiated wastelands. In the center of it all is Tariq Geiger, the “Glowing Man”, who now has a new purpose: to track down the man with powers like his, and see if he can cure himself of his nuclear affliction.
Geiger #2 follows Geiger and his newfound companion Nate the Nuclear Knight, along with my favorite character Barney the two-headed wolf, as they stumble upon a small town. The leader of that small town tasks Geiger with a mission: stop a thief from making off with their goods, and he’ll give him the name of the other Radioactive Man.
Johns and Frank are fully in sync with each other, having crafted two previous Geiger tales and DC titles, including Superman: Secret Origin and Doomsday Clock. In Johns’ case, he’s slowly establishing Geiger as a reluctant hero – despite Geiger constantly expressing his pessimistic outlook on life, he’ll more than often do the right thing. It’s reminiscent of Westerns like A Fistful of Dollars or Shane, where the protagonist is often forced to rely on their old life of violence to solve a problem – and wanders the wilderness in the process. I also dig the dynamic between Geiger and Nate; the cynic and the optimist is always ripe for storytelling potential.
Frank’s artwork brings some great action sequences to the pages of Geiger #2, especially during a runaway train sequence. I admire the way that Frank draws Geiger’s transformation sequences; as he draws his batons, emerald fire eats away his skin, leaving the glowing skeleton that is Geiger. Combined with Brad Anderson’s colors and Rob Leigh’s lettering, it makes for an image that’s both awe inspiring and more than a little frightening.
The one drawback to the issue is that it more or less ends the same way as the first issue: the mysterious Electrician tracking Geiger, and Geiger nowhere closer to finding his counterpart. Since this is an ongoing series, it’s more than fine if the creative team wishes to set some storylines in motion but there should be some payoff down the road. Perhaps next month’s issue will finally begin to deliver on some of these answers.
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