I Invested in an International Conglomerate & Went from an MMA Champion to Becoming the First-Ever American Yakuza #2 is a comic written by Chris Moses and Anthony Stokes with pencil and inks by Damiano Restivo and colors by John. Hiro begins to stress as he believes that his life is in imminent danger. This is an organized crime comic with mystery and drama that takes place in Japan. The main man for this issue Hiro, he is one of the grandchildren with the potential to become head of this Yakuza family. He is a bit slothy and indulgent. Returning from the first installment are: Xavier, the MMA fighter, Masashi, another heir to the Yakuza throne, and Kymoi, Masashi’s assistant. These three are still looking for answers about who killed Xavier’s friend and Masashi’s cousin, Tenshin. The story begins with Hiro eating at a club when he is interrupted by a call from his cousin Kenji. This conversation starts off cordial but it gets aggressive and ends up heightening Hiro’s fears. Most of the violence here is against objects and with rare physicality. The pacing is steady and the tone is stressful like a “still” moment in a thriller. The intensity here is brought about by fear and imminent danger. The dialogue is conversational with good back-and-forth. There are no word-heavy pages here. This is an issue that shines a light on some characters, answers a few questions, and serves as a buildup for what’s coming after.
The art here is drawn in a detailed style slightly reminiscent of 70’s era comics. The color range is decent with some saturation and strong shading. This story takes place primarily indoors or around buildings with quick scenic shots of a mountain(or volcano) and a garden. The primary locations for this story are a nightclub and a restaurant along with some alleyways and streets. The backgrounds usually show the surroundings but on occasion they can just be a solid or gradient color. The expression level here is around average as Hiro is the main focus and is completely unable to hide his emotions. The range here consists of fear, shock, and annoyance with some irritation. The faces have a high amount of detail so each look comes across clearly. Hiro is a messy eater and he spends a majority of this comic with food around his mouth. The violence is destructive a bit of physicality and no blood or gore. The action scenes tend to be short and sweet.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes, if this is up your alley.
“Would I like this?”
If you like organized crime stories about the Yakuza starring a dysfunctional extended family and featuring drama and a bit of mystery then this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
PG-13.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“It’s time for you to stop playing around.”
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/xionstudios/american-yakuza-nsfw-murder-mystery-in-japan-acts-1-and-2/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 20
Violent Pages: 5, for 25% 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 – 2
“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.”
