Queen in Black Issue 2 is published by DC Comics. Written by Al Ewing, art by Iban Coello and Paco Medina, colors by Guru-eFX and letters by Clayton Cowles.
Heroes around the planet scramble to fight the symbiotic invasion in Queen in Black Issue 2. The sprawling nature of the massive event continues, as does the relentless pace. With weekly releases, the symbiotic action is coming thick and fast.
Queen In Black Issue 2 bounces between cities and groups of heroes. They are scattered, from Tokyo to London, with X-Men and Avengers all answering the call. What has changed from the original King inBLack event to this one is that there are a plethora of alien races now bonded to the Symbiote. Skrulls, Kree and more, and that creates a lively and unpredictable number of enemies.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
Pods rain out of the sky, and there’s no telling what or who will pop out of them with tendrils and big teeth. The intensity and speed are profound, with a really chaotic, scattergun approach. Hela’s plan is huge, with pretty much everyone and everything in her potential path. The scale threatened to be overwhelming, yet Ewing manages to keep the story coherent and exciting.
The number of major characters in Queen In Black Issue 2 just gets bigger. There are references to other comic series, including The Mortal Thor, but Ewing does an excellent job of providing context when needed. It’s amazing to see heroes think on their feet as they take on the symbiotes’ powers; weapons and abilities all come into play to generate light, heat and sound.
There are so many characters and heaps of dialogue, but time is spent trying to generate emotional strength too, and the personalities of the individuals come through. Dylan Brock and Mary Jane are at the heart of it as a very unorthodox family. Mary Jane is trying to get Dylan out of the firing line; Dylan wants to be part of the major strike team. For those who like comic book deep cuts and region-specific teams, this comic has several for you to enjoy as the fighting spreads across the globe.
With the rapid rollout of issues, Queen in Black Issue 2 sees another artist step up in Medina to aid Coello. Both are experienced in major events, and channel the immensity of the occasions. What comes across very early in this issue is the desire to have fun, instead of solely being a symbiotic gore-fest.
The first pages feature reality-warping, shifting the world and creating alternate reality versions of the same character. Each group of heroes face enemies that are individual alien races, and the artists superbly show the differences in body shape and weapons, with the Symbiote signature features.
Many characters have adapted to fit the fight, especially Iron Man with a new, huge suit of armor. Next to Cable, you have two behemoths and wicked-looking heroes. So many comic characters, who already have exceptional designs, have been amplified by the always awesome symbiotes. At the helm of that is the Kree Supreme Intelligence, a giant alien head that is now a giant symbiote head within a glass dome. Everything within the art is just cool.
The colors are sensational, blending the cosmic vibrancy with the darkness of the Symbiotes. That solid, oily black of Symbiote skin is facing off against a rainbow of colors, especially reds and blues. Lasers fly through the air. The brightness of the costumes helps all the characters stand out amid the madness. The lettering features multiple custom word balloons for the multiple monstrous voices, but remains clear and easy to read.
Queen in Black Issue 2 brings everything to the party. Cosmic Marvel is combining with the Earth in brutal fashion. They have been separated for a long time, and Asgard is locked down. But this event brings it crashing down. You can tell from every piece of dialogue and every illustrated line that there’s a love of superhero comics and every corner of the weird and wonderful universe.
