Set the Hook #2 is a comic written by Chad Perkins with art by Timothy Sparvero. Otis and Ginger head to Mackinaw City to get some answers. This is a science fiction comic with strong mystery elements, drama, light comedy, and noir vibes. The main man for this comic is Otis Ysabaert, he is a gruff, angry, loose cannon cop who is angry about the death of his father and he has been hunting down the pike that did it. Assisting him on his quest is Ginger, she is a boisterous bounty hunter who’s worked with Otis in the past. This story begins with this duo traveling by truck to Mackinaw City where they stop on a bridge. After waiting for a few seconds they jump off the bridge onto a passing steamboat. This takes place in world where aquatic creatures can be sentient and/or humanoid with some taking on Lovecraftian qualities. The violence here is physical with some brutality and blood. The pacing here is steady overall with some slower convo-heavy moments. The tone here is mostly serious with a little lightheartedness along with noir grimness. There are more than a few intense scenes which are normally due to drama, danger, and violence. The dialogue here is nearly all conversational with some rare thought narration by Otis. There are many references to fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic-based life. There are no word-heavy pages here but one gets close. This is a sequel issue that moves the story forward by introducing new characters and fleshing out the old ones as Otis continues to search for this murderous Pike.

            The art here is detailed and stylized with a cartoonish look and subtle shading. The color palette mainly consists of purples, pinks, and blues with frequent use of gradients instead of solid colors. There s a good deal of natural scenery here from forests thick with trees, pastures, lakes, rivers, and mountains. The main location for this story is a strip club but there is a lot of traveling beforehand from cars to boats to walking. The backgrounds are split between showing the actual surroundings to being a solid color. The expression level here is very high as these characters give off very strong looks. The emotions frequently on display here are anger, happiness, fear, rage, and annoyance. The faces have a decent amount of detail but they can get animated so all the different expressions usually come across clearly. A good deal of the creatures here are aquatic with varying degrees of anthropomorphism. The violence here is delivered physically with the occasional solid object assisting. There is a noticeable amount of blood but no gore. The action scenes tend to come in quick one-panel bursts but there is a lengthier one.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes, if this is up your alley.

“Would I like this?”

If you like science fiction stories starring a man and woman with noir vibes, mystery, drama, a bit of comedy, and Lovecraftian influence 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?”

“Get your slimy appendages off of me!”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkledog/set-the-hook-2-a-supernatural-horror-noir-comic/description

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

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24

Violent Pages: 5, for 21% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 7, for 29% 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 – 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.”