Hellcats #2 is a comic written and drawn by John A. Rhodes with colors by Avery Ferdinand. Panic sets in when the Hyperverse that the Hellcats have teleported to has an impending extinction level event. This is a science fiction superhero comic with heavy-handed violence, aggressive characters, and life-and-death drama. The leading ladies here are Liberty, Keiko, and Hyperious. Liberty, formerly Gunner, is the leader of this strike team called the Hellcats. Keiko is a crimefighter in cat-themed gear that the Hellcats came across in another Hyperverse. Hyperious, formerly Chaotika, is a short-tempered and violent woman who is one of the most powerful beings on earth. The main man here is Expatriot, formerly Silver Eagle. He was somewhat forced to join the Hellcats and he is searching for alternate-Hyperverse versions of his daughter. Also appearing here are Dark Devil and The Owling. This story begins with Keiko holding Liberty and Expatriot at gunpoint(and sword) as she asks them what are doing in the bank vault. Liberty tries to tell her that they are all on the same side but Keiko begins to attack her but Expatriot jumps in to break things up. This takes place in multiple universes and the perspective shifts between the different sets of characters. The violence can be a brutal with a bit of blood but no gore. The pacing is overall steady with a couple moments that could be confusing if you aren’t paying close attention. This has a dire and desperate tone similar to a disaster movie. There are more dramatically intense than violent ones. The dialogue here is conversational with a lot of back-and-forth and aggression. There are no word-heavy pages here. This is an intriguing and thrilling issue that does a good job of moving the story forward, developing some characters, and showing us what is at stake.

            The art here is a drawn in a detailed modern style with strong lighting and shading. The color palette features a lot of blues and silvers but there is a good amount of more realistic colors. For scenery we have a thick forest with evergreen trees and distant mountains. There are a number of locations here and there isn’t really a main one as the story hops back-and-forth between Hyperverses and the characters are constantly moving. Some of the places visited include the aforementioned forest, an apartment, a bank vault, and a space station. The backgrounds usually show the immediate surroundings along with frequent shots of a star-filled night sky. The expression level here is around average as these characters manage balancing tough, unflinching looks with reactions. Emotions go from aggressive to fearful and somber as these are high stakes situations. The faces have an above-average amount of detail with strong eyes and mouths so all the different expressions are clear. There is some face sameness here among the women that could potentially confuse you. The main weapons used here are fists and there are hard hits, a bit of blood, but no gore or gruesomeness. There is really only one major action sequence and it has a good flow while being interspersed with scenes from other characters. All the women here look like models with large breasts and they wear revealing outfits that frequently lose the battle against hard nipples.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes, if this is up your alley.

“Would I like this?”

If you like science fiction superhero stories that star mostly women in dire and dangerous situations with high stakes, violence, and overall aggression then this is for you.

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

R. Violence, blood, nudity.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“This is becoming a regular thing.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hyperversecomics/hellcats-2-the-razorback/description

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

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24

Violent Pages: 7, for 29% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 3, for 13% 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 – 2

“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 – 5

“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.”