The Good
I feel that this book is much better than the first issue. After a certain aside from one of the characters, it's like the second half of the book is much improved from the first. It descends into very "Hellboy"-ish territory, but I'm not sure if it's an homage or something that skirts the line a little too close.
That aside was done very well, and establishes some mental instability that the character sorely needed. A female Abe Sapien is not a character description anyone wants: making her a little bit loco makes her interesting.
The Bad
I still think that some of the Creature Commandos are a little too one-dimensional, and Father Time's guise as a little girl is just for the "edgy" factor; so far there hasn't been any practical reason for the form, and it just seems to break up some visual monotony. While I can applaud the writer and artist's choice for that, I still don't like weird things for no reason.
Ray Palmer has been reduced to the Creature Commandos' "guy back at base", which I think it a great disservice to the character.
Also, certain characters did jack in this issue besides slicing a few monsters and shunting the attention back to Frankenstein; we know who he is, so give us some development!
At this point, the Commandos seem quite powerful, clearing out a village of demons; this seems like a problem, considering three of their members are relatively flimsy and have little-to-no combat training. I'm having a hard time taking them seriously and actually thinking the characters are at risk if they're thrown into overwhelming situations and coming out unscathed.
The Verdict
I can see this book filling a void between the long production cycles of Hellboy and BRPD, but it doesn't approach the level of writing or structure. The "black humour" that's supposed to be present isn't exactly striking any chords with me, and since it's said to be the selling point of the book, I'm less than impressed.
With the addition of a new character next issue, I'm hoping we get a little more spark in the lineup; as it stands right now, I'm having a hard time caring for them, and in turn, paying for this book.
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