The Good
The issue opens with a quick recap of what happened in the last issue if you missed the launch of this series. Bunn very cleverly gives readers a recap of what happened in issue #1 before jumping right into the current story and introducing a new character to the series. As a fan of Dani Moonstar -- the leader of the New Mutants who is "no longer a mutant herself -- it was great not only to see her in this series, but to see her kicking major butt within the issue's first few pages.
We are more formally introduced to the villain in this story when we meet Caroline Le Fay, who has successfully managed to make Dani her slave for the time being. We are introduced to the character as well as her motives. The story shifts quickly away from these two to the three ladies we met in the first issue: Misty Knight, Valkyrie, and Dr. Annabelle Riggs. The ladies are in Asgardia for some very important business, but Misty makes a point to state that she sometimes needs down time -- something that makes sense since she is, after all, only human.
There are a great series of panels that delve into Valkyrie's purpose in being on Midgard in the first place and it explores what the character had been up to for a long time before meeting Misty Knight and forming the "Fearless Defenders."
The Bad
There were moments (particularly in the beginning of the issue where Dani is mid-fight) where the character appears very static, almost as if her body wasn't moving with her head during the fight. The expression was the same throughout and although pretty, the art was not fluid and I think that really took away from the story in that moment. The art was consistent in that way throughout the issue; while it wasn't bad, it certainly was not the best portrayal of action that we've seen.
There are some moments where I felt the issue was disorganized and it was difficult to understand exactly what was going on, particularly toward the end. One minute the team is on Asgardia receiving what seems to be some kind of a lecture, and the next they are confronted by Hela. It's a scene that just sprouts out of the blue and it doesn't feel very cohesive.
The Verdict
Overall, this issue was not as solid as the first one. There were moments where the story felt slightly confusing and characters were just abruptly introduced into the story in a way that didn't really make sense. They were introduced quickly (towards the end) and the scenes that followed simply did not feel natural.
I enjoyed seeing the introduction of two new characters to the story, I thought that was great and that for the most part they were introduced in a way that made sense. I particularly liked the way Dani was written at the start of the series, although I would have liked to see that fleshed out a bit more.
There were definitely some inconsistencies in the art of this issue. There were moments where the action scenes were not fluid and very static, and the characters just seemed to be anatomically incorrect in the way that they were drawn.
Overall, this issue was definitely a step down from the previous issue, although I will say I do like the way that Valkyrie is portrayed here: I think Cullen Bunn has a real grasp and vision for the character and the story he wants to tell so it will be interesting to see how he develops her character further.