TEN #2 is a comic written by Christopher Rhodes with art by Marcos Lima and lettering by Buddy Beaudoin. The superheroine Iris is on a mission to protect a prosecutor from corrupt police officers. This is tale that showcases superpowers and politics while touching on some serious topics. The leading lady in this issue is Iris, real name Leticia Ferreira. A few of the powers she possesses are shockwaves, bulletproof skin, and super-strength. The prosecutor she is protecting is Pedro Rodrigues Dos Santos, a man attempting to hold cops accountable. The plot is straightforward and is mostly conversational with some light mystery. There is quite a bit of character building and a few references to the previous issue. This also gives information on how some of the Ten were selected. The action here is physical and but there is no blood or gore. The pacing varies as there are more than a few wordy pages you’ll have to soak in that’ll slow things down a bit. The tone is serious with long intense moments. The dialogue is a bit more humorous when Iris speaks but everyone generally speaks more professionally. The comic “translates” their Portuguese into English for the reader. As mentioned above there are some wordy pages but it’s in conversations so doesn’t comes off as a drag. This is an entertaining second issue that focuses on a new character and gives us a look at how a different culture treats them, as well as what that heroine does.

            The art here features some heavy use of shading, some detailed smoothness and a realistic palette of colors. The scenery here is all indoors from an apartment building to a cold gray-walled facility. Both locations seem very sterile and professional. The backgrounds tend to contain scene elements in them even on close-ups which helps the reader stay locked on the situation. The expression level here is low as very few of these faces exhibit a non-stoic look. It might be due to the characters’ jobs or general dispositions but we don’t get much emotion other than a few smirks. The faces are drawn well enough of the smaller details like blush and wrinkles so the looks we do get come across clear. The power-based effects pop off the page. The action here is physical with action scenes spread out with good flow. No blood or gore, but these attacks look painful. The outfits here are business wear and combat gear but Iris has on a bodysuit with no sleeves.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories starring a Brazilian superheroine giving protection while dealing with police corruption using different methods this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

PG-13. Violence.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“<You think I have a folder labeled ‘blackmail material?’>”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/christopherrhodes/ten-2-iris/description

 

***** I received this review copy for free. *****

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

*
*
*
*
*

Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 20

Violent Pages: 6, for 30% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 1

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 1

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”