Scout’s Honor #2 is written by David Pepose, illustrated by Luca Casalanguida, colored by Matt Milla, and lettered by Carlos M. Mangual. It is published by AfterShock Comics. Following the events of the first issue, Kit brings the drone containing the origin of the Ranger Scouts to her father. She struggles to keep acting like everything is normal, but soon, her relationship with her friend Dez is tested—and the murderous Highwaymen reappear.
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I thought the first issue ended on the perfect cliffhanger, but this issue threw curveball after emotional curveball and kept me hooked throughout the story. Pepose carefully balances emotion and action in his script, exploring the relationships Kit has with various characters including Dez and her father. Kit’s father is not only a brilliant engineer; he’s dedicated his life to protecting his daughter. It’s a relatable character trait, especially in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. And it turns out that Dez is hiding his own secret which not only could upend his friendship with Kit but also explains the tension between himself and his father.
Pepose continues to flesh out the world of Scout’s Honor, particularly with the Boy Scouts and their methods being adapted to a war-torn wasteland. Readers will finally get their first look at the location called the Eagle’s Nest and what it takes to become an Eagle Scout in this world. Slight spoiler: it involves bloodshed. It’s clear that Pepose is having a blast fleshing out this world and putting his own twist on the post-apocalyptic genre, and I welcome it.
Casalanguida and Milla bring Pepose’s script to life with beautiful, yet brutal images. An early sequence finds Kit walking through the desert, harsh winds whipping up sand around her. Another image takes place at night, as Kit confronts the Highwaymen. She leaps off the roof of a building above one of the Highwaymen, shrouded in shadow as she unsheathes a knife. Milla nicely colors the sandstorm sequence with dark browns and sandy reds, while the night sequences have a bluish green tint to them.
The violence committed in this book comes in brief, bloody bursts. Arrows sink into eyes and bodies jerk back from the impact of punches and kicks. In addition to making the violence in the story feel real and brutal, Casalanguida also lends his touch to the environment, particularly the Eagle’s Nest. As its name suggests, it is a massive building sculpted to look like an eagle’s head, with windows for eyes. When Kit and Dez approach the Nest, the effect feels like the eagle itself is staring down at them, which is rather unsettling, if I’m being honest.
Scout’s Honor #2 continues to explore the layers and secrets of its post-apocalyptic world, ending with an emotional knife in the heart. I’m loving the direction this book is taking and the next issue looks to explore the “trial by combat” that often pops up in post-apocalyptic fiction. I recommend this book to anybody who either loves post-apocalyptic fiction or has gotten burnt out on it as this is a genuinely fresh take.
Scout’s Honor #2 is available wherever comics are sold.
Scout's Honor #2
TL;DR
Scout’s Honor #2 continues to explore the layers and secrets of its post-apocalyptic world, ending with an emotional knife in the heart. I’m loving the direction this book is taking and the next issue looks to explore the “trial by combat” that often pops up in post-apocalyptic fiction. I recommend this book to anybody who either loves post-apocalyptic fiction or has gotten burnt out on it as this is a genuinely fresh take.
