Deathrage #2: Retail Edition is a comic written by Murphey and Aaron Sparrow with illustrations by Emiliano Urdinola and colors by Gaston Zubeldia. While lost and extremely confused Deathrage discovers a new feature of the helmet that will help his problems go away. This is a violent comic with interesting characters and a story that is purposely mysterious. Our leading man is Deathrage, a mercenary who wears a high tech helmet and who is currently suffering from memory problems. The supporting cast here is completely made of women: Fire Kiss is a woman with fire abilities, Candy is an angry woman with blue hair, and there is a scientist whose name is not yet known. Deathrage’s story begins with him doing some solo circus work and attempting to remember how to get assistance. We get close looks at women around Deathrage so we end up getting a well-rounded view of the whole story. The violence here is loud, bloody, and robotically gory. Things get intense here but this Deathrage has a humorous outlook. The humor isn’t too much that it takes away from the seriousness. The dialogue is persistent and very conversational. There are no wordy pages here. This is an excitiing second issue that starts in the middle of a situation and we get to see how everyone maneuvers through it.
The art here is a visual treat with the high amount of detail and variance and showcasing a wide range of colors. The focus is evident as even the fur on a teddy bear is well done. This comic primarily takes outside a hotel pool but it goes to quite a few different places before and after. The expressions from Deathrage are shown on the screen of his mask, which limits him, but the other characters pick up the human slack and emote well. Their faces are full of the smaller details like creases and wrinkles so looks are easy to read and add to the moments. There is no face sameness here. The main piece of equipment here is a firearm, though we do get to see the old ball and chain. The action scenes are lengthy and usually involve body parts ending up elsewhere. There are many strong hits and collateral damage but everything should be easy to follow. Be prepared to see blood and robotic gore. When it comes to outfits both Fire Kiss and Candy wear leotards and Deathrage spends all his time shirtless.
Compared to the Kickstarter Edition this one has at least four new pages and nearly every old page has new dialogue which will completely change your view of the characters within. The extra pages provide much needed context on moments and motivations. The art looks a bit more polished though that may just be due to the fact that I’m reading a physical edition.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like stories starring a confused man with powers surrounded by capable women who may want to help or hurt him and a plot dripping with mystery this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Violence and language.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“Well as psychotic breaks go…this was a fun one.”
Physical Link: https://mercpublishing.com/products/deathrage-3-second-print-alessandro-micelli?_pos=3&_sid=0ddf1a831&_ss=r
Digital Link: https://mercpublishing.com/products/deathrage-2-pdf-download?_pos=1&_sid=0ddf1a831&_ss=r
Unboxing Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09BtikvJjwY
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 28
Violent Pages: 11, for 39% 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 – 3
“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.”
