REVIEW: ‘Countdown to Countdown’ Month 2

Countdown to Countdown Month 2 is self-published, written, drawn, colored and lettered by Velinxi. Having decided to have a heart to heart talk with his mom, Iris heads to see her. However, he’ll be waylaid by an unexpected visitor.

With last month’s releases having ended with a bit of a Demiflora history lesson, Countdown to Countdown Month 2 brings us back to the present as Iris goes to have a heart to heart talk with his mom.  The glimpses we’ve seen of her certainly puts Iris’s trepidation into context. Still, despite his misgivings, Iris heads up to see her. However, his trip gets stalled when an intruder appears in the tower shutting everything down. Iris decides to improvise. That decision will lead to something decidedly different than a talk with mom.

Countdown to Countdown Month 2 lets us see more into Iris’s character. While the first month focused more on his spirit, month two shows us a stubborn, and sarcastic individual. This look at Iris balances the idealistic dreamer with a more realistic teenager. I appreciated this greatly. It added to the character’s depth, and relatability. These aspects of Velinxi ‘s writing of Iris were already my favorites. I was happy to see them continue to be a factor in Countdown to Countdown Month 2.

I also continue to enjoy the clever ways Velinxi has Iris implement his abilities. Bringing one’s drawings to life is a wonderful power, whose only limit is how cleverly Velinxi can think to utilize it. Given Iris’s seemingly bright nature, I expect more wonderful uses of this gift forthcoming.

The art in Countdown to Countdown Month 2 continues to excel. The expressiveness of Iris is a delight. Velinxi portrays so much emotion in Iris that you could take the words out of the panels and you’d still pick up half of what was going on behind those exceptionally bright eyes. Between Velinxi’s flair for the dramatic and the natural use of exaggeration that is always present with the manga style she draws from, whatever emotion is present in a panel is always front and center.

Several panels in Countdown to Countdown Month 2 also take on an almost liquid quality to the images. This stylization comes up when Velinxi draws motion. It is very striking to see. While Velinxi has implemented this technique before, it comes across more noticeably to me here. Perhaps it is because the images it appears in this time are less eye-catching overall. Instead of a dashing race, Iris is beating on a door. Since the scene is a bit calmer, I find myself noticing the styling more. Whatever the reason, it really showed itself here.

Countdown to Countdown Month 2 continues to expand upon its main character in meaningful ways. And with this month’s ending bringing a new character into the scene, I have a feeling things are only going to get more interesting from here.

You can read all of Countdown to Countdown for free here.