ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Rangers of the Divide,’ Issue #2

Rangers of the Divide #2 is a fantasy series about a war-torn world and the Rangers that patrol the vast, wild land between nations. The series is created by Megan Huang and published by Dark Horse Comics.

Look, on the one hand, not nearly enough happens in Rangers of the Divide #2. After a first issue that left me very excited for what might come next, I’m really bummed that this issue just left me in the lurch. But on the other hand, the issue’s art does everything it needs to get me just as interested in continuing, if not more, than the previous issue. It’s not a bad issue; it’s just the kind of issue that sets up the next the whole way through and never goes anywhere for itself. Its plot is essentially one long trounce through a bizarre locale. While I still have no idea the names of pretty much any character or what in the world is going on in a bigger picture, the strange creatures and weather anomalies will hopefully begin to be more clear in the next issue.

None of the characters, not even Commander Knight, feel like they have their personalities explored deeply enough yet to either tell them apart or develop an attachment to them. However, I do really like what we see so far as a few cadets get lost exploring ruins and the commander getting frustrated with their lack of experience. But something about the narrative style makes it feel like there’s a layer of separation between the reader and the characters. There are narration text boxes from Knight’s perspective that are essentially his ongoing thoughts and contain some omniscience but never actually explain anything. It’s too vague to really shape what is going on beyond it’s bad.

Where the issue succeeds greatly, though, is in its ability to crack this world wide open. Of course, it only goes to one locale, but that locale is so dramatically different and interesting compared to the desert of the previous issue. Encountering this different part of the world, even if I still really don’t know what the heck is going on, instantly made me feel like there is a huge, exciting world to keep discovering.

The art in this issue is also exquisite. While I still want to see a bit more from the characters to help me distinguish them and get more of a sense of each of their personalities, we finally got some great views of the comic’s dragons. They’re such interesting designs, and I look forward to seeing how they make for a different kind of dragon-riding story as things progress. They’re just such sweet-looking creatures that I would very much like to pet and be friends with.

The colors are really what help this issue stand out. The oranges and reds of the backgrounds in this biome, as well as during flight sequences, are a stark contrast to the last issue and just generally really appealing.

Rangers of the Divide #2 is a fantastic issue illustratively, but I’m still looking for more from the plot and characters.

Rangers of the Divide #2 is available on June 16th, wherever comics are sold.