Continues to Be Shockingly Poetic In A Great Follow Up Issue (Coffin Bound #2 Review)
COFFIN BOUND #2
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Dani
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Image Comics
Rating: 8.5/10
Everything the first issue of Coffin Bound established gets expanded upon in this issue. While only being 32 pages, this issue is jammed back with a lot of good grindhouse and lyrical content.
Watters continues to give Izzy a unique voice in comics today. For such an emotionally damaged, punk lady, she speaks with the eloquence of a classical writer. We join Izzy while she reconnects with an old lover and Dan executes the heavy air that rests between two disconnected people.
He keeps that theme of disconnection throughout. The pairing between Vulture and Izzy feels disconnected. He is simply a presence watching and waiting for her to get the show going on her terms. I wish this issue featured a bit more of Vulture, but it works thematically for this chapter. (Quick sidenote: I think letterer Aditya Bidikar does a fantastic job at displaying Vulture's presence through letters. It lays yet another layer of weird that I'm enjoying from this title.) Paulie, the character who put the hit on Izzy initially, feels disconnected from her and wants to find her to reconnect. Izzy travels to her home town where she wants to further her agenda of ridding the world of every last token of herself. Aside from the presence of emotional disconnection, there is a death that shows the physical leave from this world.
Artist Dani and colorist Brad Simpson continue to bring their best. Facial expressions carry so much weight. You can feel the heaviness or terror in these characters. The settings are gritty and scratchy. The universe they exist in feels dirty, and it's an excellent enhancement to the general boldness of the story. The colors are muted and murky adding to the general sleaze this world. Everything done by Dani and Simpson adds layers to convey atmosphere, setting, and mood effectively. Each page is a pleasure to my retinas, to be frank.
Thematically, from every angle, Coffin Bound hits all of the right notes for me. It had a distinct goal and executed it very well. The only real criticism pertains to how Izzy's dialogue breaks the flow of the book sometimes. Even though I enjoy every word she speaks, it doesn't rub well with the other characters. It can make some instances feel strange or jarring to read. However, I am sure this is something that will get better within the next issues. Overall, issue 2 delves into the weirder, crazier, and the unexpected journey between our protagonist and Vulture, and I wouldn't have it any other way. If you missed out on the first book, be sure to pick up the reprint coming out alongside #2 this week!