After the weird and wild ride of Spirit of the Shadows #1, the series continues this week with its second chapter. If you think death is final, prepare for what comes in this second issue, which fully leans into witches, romantic woe, and resurrection!
Much of this second issue is establishing Helena as a threat to Erik Leroux. At the start, she threatens Dr. Hyde Perkins for info by using a magic spell on a knife. If he lies, the knife stabs him! It’s clear her powers are legit, especially after what she does to Dr. Perkins.
Interwoven with Helena’s acts are Leroux and Elizabeth walking through the underworld. In the underworld lie secrets about Leroux’s past, with new flashbacks to his doomed love. We already know the romance has a tragic end, but these scenes reinforce that their love is true, even if a bit immoral, given she’s engaged. These scenes really pop with life, as the sketchier art sometimes features Leroux and Elizabeth more vividly rendered in the afterlife.
It’s safe to say Nick Cagnetti’s art and colors are out of this world good, and a major selling point for your eyeballs. The second issue continues with bright, oddly shaped worlds in the afterlife, like something born from Tim Burton and Steve Ditko. In one scene, Leroux walks down a street, and in windows and doorways, we see strange creatures straight out of a cubist painting. There are multiple dramatic beats, like a giant that scoops up Leroux, and a shot of Helena flying high over a forest to her magic dwelling. The art always pops and is fun to take in.
As far as plot progression, things are moving a bit too slowly for their own good. Helena is wicked and a riot, but her actions take a lot of time as she sprinkles in info about her sister. Meanwhile, the flashback doesn’t add a whole lot of new information. Thankfully, by the end of the issue, it’s clear Helena and Leroux will finally clash.
Spirit of the Shadows #2 thrives on atmosphere, style, and supernatural menace, with Helena emerging as a compelling magical threat and the underworld rendered in wildly imaginative detail. The pacing occasionally stalls, and the flashbacks retread familiar emotional ground, but the sheer visual ambition and the promise of an impending showdown keep the series intriguing and worth following.
