After the blood and fire of Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña’s first issue, Escape #2 takes a step back to show us the relative calm before the storm. Trapped behind enemy lines and certain that his job has become a suicide mission, Milton remembers the woman he left behind and the ways in which she inspired him to be something greater.
You might think that this tactic of jumping back in time after the climactic battle from last issue would kill the momentum in some way, or otherwise create a kind of tonal whiplash. And while it’s true that the second issue of Escape is a very different animal (no pun intended), it has the effect of enriching one of the best series debuts of the year. We’ve already seen Milton escape death (for now, at least), but now we get to see what it is that he’s willing to die for.
Remender’s narration throughout is still exceptionally strong, rooting us in the emotionality of Milton as a character and helping us to understand how terrifying and uncertain the world is that he lives in. All he wants to do is take care of his growing family and scrape out a comfortable living without feeling trapped. Sadly, as soon as he’s able to fix one problem, another crack always seems to appear. He marries his best gal and winds up in crippling debt. He gets a steady job and is now under his disapproving father-in-law’s thumb. He can finally afford to take his wife on a movie date and is treated to a horrifically violent newsreel reminding him that the world is falling apart around them.
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Through it all, he never shirks his duty to his love and his country. It’s a tremendously heart-wrenching issue, particularly when you go into it knowing that Milton is unlikely to ever see his child grow up. Some of the dialogue can veer into being a teensy bit flowery for the type of character Milton is presented as, but it’s not really distracting. If anything, it amps up the classical romantic feeling of this issue.
Acuña delivers some incredible character acting throughout this issue. From the comfort of two people who have found their person to the unsettling realization that everything is going to hell outside of their hometown, we’re with this couple for every emotional beat. The brief moments back in the war zone are haunting, with Milton’s thousand-yard stare and intense clutch on his weapons telling us everything we need to know about his state of mind and odds for survival.
Escape #2 builds on the first issue in poignant and tragic ways, effectively communicating what’s at stake before propelling the story forward. With two issues in, Escape is shaping up to be one of the very best series of the year.
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