Arachna 2: The Most Dangerous Game is a comic written by Martti Kauppinen with art by Carlos Granda and colors by Javi Laparra. Arachna’s hunt for Doc Diabolique leads her to a remote island where things are not as they seem. This is a violent story starring a tight cast of characters with personalities that stand out. Our leading lady is Arachna, a woman who has a split personality where Jennie is a college student and Arachna uses her spider powers. Returning from the first issue is Doc Diabolique, a scientist who may know the origins of Arachna’s powers. Introduced in this issue are Tayanna and Jaecar, two hunters who assist Arachna on her quest. The plot begins with Arachna hunting for clues about the Doc and just about every scene after this has some sort of violent exchange. There are themes of self-determination, focus, and freedom here with some characters experiencing all three. The action here is brutal and bloody with gore appearing every now and then. I wouldn’t say outright that this is a sexy comic but if you are into BDSM you will like this comic. The pace here is steady as this is a very thick issue so things don’t need to be rushed. Things are intense here and it is made evident but the tone and language the characters use. The dialogue can get hammy at points and there are combat quips but you shouldn’t be put off by the dialogue. There are some wordy pages but this is a large comic so it won’t slow the story down. Overall this is an exciting and interesting issue that goes in a somewhat familiar direction but it’ll hold your attention until the end.
This comic features some highly detailed art with a wide range of colors. There are a number of notable environments and locations here. The story starts in the sewers but will move towards the sky, visit a mansion, and traverse a jungle. Each place tends to persist from panel-to-panel and backgrounds feel part of the scene. The expression level here is very high especially from Arachna. All the characters have a wide range of expressions to show us and it helps add to their dialogue. The faces are chock full of details so every look comes across clear and they can change multiple times on one page. Bodies are realistically drawn and go through the ringer. The creatures here stand out and have a viciousness about them. Weapons in this comic are those commonly used for hunting. The action here at some points feels like something out of Spiderman, other times it feels like Lara Croft in the new Tomb Raider trilogy; specifically the parts where she’s falling from high places and landing on pointy objects. The fight scenes are usually easy to follow though you might get confused during some sequences. Things do get bloody and some gore is present. A couple of the outfits are revealing but it fits the environment and it’s not only the women donning that kind of gear. Now back to the BDSM thing. There are a lot of incapacitated/captured moments and she gets beat up quite a bit, and the beatings in the comic make some sense but as a reader you can tell that some scenes were made for a specific demographic. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but that’s what you’ll see. So when you see the sexy page percentage down below just know I’m going off of things that are generally considered sexy. If it was based off BDSM that rating would be over 75%.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like spider-based heroines and hunting themes with gorgeous art and persistent antagonists this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Violence, gore, BDSM, nudity.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“You mean you might not kill him? Even after everything he’s done?”
Physical Link: https://x53studios.com/products/arachna-volume-2-the-most-dangerous-game
Digital Link: https://x53studios.com/products/arachna-volume-2-the-most-dangerous-game-2nd-printing
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arachnacomic/arachna-2-the-most-dangerous-game/description
Indiegogo Link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/arachna-2-the-most-dangerous-game/x/26236710#/
Unboxing Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTMeeG1EkaQ
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 68
Violent Pages: 32, for 47% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 10, for 15% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 4
“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 – 5
“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 – 2
“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 – 3
“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.”
