LumberJax #2 is a comic written by Morgan Iverson with pencils and inks by Giacomo Guida and colors by David Aravena. Our heroes go from place to place in an attempt to stop smaller wrongdoings but discover that something big is brewing. This issue has a lot of plot development and explanations; we also get a closer look at some of the supporting cast. The lead is LumberJax, a man with superhuman abilities who is all about rooting out injustice. With him is his wife Stacy and a combat-proficient woman named Sharp. The plot involves a devious preacher, wayward siblings involved with crime, and Mardi Gras! But things will get confusing as this comic explains things and pushes story at the same time but not in the best way. I had to reread sections before on and still got tripped up. There is a lot of action throughout this issue with it getting gory occasionally. The story slows down at one point but otherwise it moves quickly. The dialogue has that modern jive or “sucka” type of language which may be annoying for some. Nearly half the pages here are wordy and as mentioned earlier, you may have to reread. Overall this is an issue with excitement, mysteries, and necessary violence.

            This is a realistically-colored comic where everything bleeds personality. From the buildings that persist through the panels to the open air celebration in the city streets, you can feel the environment. There are some very well drawn faces here with a high amount of detail which is very helpful for expression; especially for a comic with as many words as this one. What the characters are feeling will never be in question here. The equipment you’ll see here is standard for toughs with the addition of an axe and barbed wire sleeves. The more superpower-based effects stand out on the page. The action is bloody, hard hitting, and you will see some gore. These violent scenes have good flow so you shouldn’t worry about getting lost. Absolutely no sexualization here.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories starring a black superhero with a mostly black cast and a story with mystery and science fiction elements this is for you.

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

R. Some gore here.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“We’re fresh out of fux, so you run over here, you’re not limpin’ back.”

 

Digital Link: https://www.4thwallpros.com/product-page/lumberjax-2-digital-edition

Physical Link: https://www.4thwallpros.com/product-page/lumberjax-2-cover-a

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dannyjquick/lumberjax-power-by-any-means/description

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

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 22

Violent Pages: 10, for 46% 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 – 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 – 4

“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.”