Review: Second Coming #5
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Mark Russell
Art: Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk
Colors: Andy Troy
Letters: Rob Steen
Reviewed by: Tony Farina
Summary
God and Satan have coffee. Nope. This is not a joke. This is what happens in Second Coming #5. They hash out some of their old problems. God sees things one way and Satan seems them another. Satan just wants to come back, God is not sure. Nothing much has really changed. God sticks Satan with the check.
Meanwhile Sunstar and Shelia are still trying to have a baby. They are invited to Cherykya, where a brutal dictator has offered them a baby to adopt. That goes…well how do you think it goes? Sunstar is desperate and the megalomaniac of Cherkya wants to look like a legitimate leader and collect trophies.
Finally, Jesus goes out to meet his new friends. He tells them the truth about his dad, his return and the nature of all things. Then, he hangs out with his dad. You know, a typical Wednesday.
Positives
Mark Russell tells us the truth. That is a fact. Here see for yourself. Here is what God says to Jesus.
“I realized that the humans’ fascination with violence and revenge wasn’t because they were sinful. But, because they had been created in my image. That I may as well have been the one driving in the nails.”
What makes this so powerful is that these ideas have always been there, waiting for us to see. Great satire is honest. This is honest. This is great. I am constantly blown away by the brilliance of his writing. There is always another layer.
Richard Pace, Leonard Kirk and Andy Troy have simply outdone themselves. There are so many moments in this book where the facial expression tells the story. Look at the below panel. The server overhears God and Satan talking. His face tells us everything. This small panel embedded in the middle of a page that is so full of other distractions is really the focus. It is perfectly laid out. It is even focused like a film shot. The person closest is in focus. This is a comic, everyone could be in focus, but they chose it this way. It is so smart.
Negatives
The only thing anyone would say negative about this book is that they hate it because they don’t get it. I get it, so I don’t have anything bad to say.
Verdict
Seriously? Second Coming #5 is damn near perfect. There is nothing to do but pile on the praise for this book.
