REVIEW: ‘Almighty,’ Issue #2

Having rescued Del from the Golden State Motorcycle Gang, Fale takes the young woman to the nearest city, Loncast. But with the gang hot on their trail, how long the duo can stay ahead of trouble remains to be seen in Almighty #2, published by Image Comics, written and art by Edward Laroche, colors by Brad Simpson, and letters by Jaymes Reed.

This book opens with our protagonists preparing to make their final sprint toward Loncast City. As the story follows them through the remaining leg of their journey and what they get up to once reaching their temporary destination, Laroche fills the pages with overt and subtle moments that build up the story’s main characters. Almighty #2‘s look at both Del and Fale brings some answers to who they are, as well as raises new questions about them. This is especially true of Fale.

While Del initially feels like the main character of this tale, Fale continues to be the one that seems far more interesting. There are enough hints and teases put forth in this issue about this capable mercenary that I hope the series eventually takes a hard pivot and just focuses itself squarely on her. So many elements of her personality feel ripe for exploration. From her origins to history hinted at her with some of the locales, Laroche has crafted a walking narrative enticement in Fale.

The other element of note is a hint at something potentially metaphysical about the story. I won’t spoil what it is, but if it plays out in one of any number of ways I can think of, it bodes well for there being more to some of this story’s characters than has been revealed.

While much of the book is focused on building up its protagonists, Almighty #2 gets a few moments of action, and Del and Fale can’t seem to avoid trouble. These moments are hard, fast, and brutal. The perfect compliment for the world the story presents. The danger during these moments is always felt, even as the story highlights just how imposing a figure Fale is in a fight.

The book’s art also aids the overriding tone of the book in general. Even when the story reaches Loncast City, the world doesn’t come to feel any safer. Laroche continues to build out a world that is barely holding together anything most would call a society. These scenes are coupled with the wonderful color choices by Simpson to elevate the book’s mood further. Even the sparse dialogue boxes provided by Reed find their way into the frames in a way that flows smoothly with the rest of the book’s presentation.

With so many hints, clues, and teases littered throughout this story, Almighty #2 feels like it is setting up narrative beats to last for a while. With how engaging this story has been so far, I sincerely hope Laroche and his team can have the time with this series to explore them all.

Almighty #2 is available now wherever comics are sold.