The Ravagers #2

Shadows of the Past

I did not expect much from the pilot issue last month since I thought “The Culling” was a horrible story, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Ravagers’ first issue was good. I am very interested in seeing where the story is headed.

In this issue, we see how Fairchild and company managed to escape the arctic waters and return to dry land. After making it ashore, the team disassembles against Fairchild's wishes, but Thunder and Lightning are soon in need of help when they are caught by the dreaded Shadow Walker.

Harvest Time

This issue was good, but I had one big issue with it. It appears that Harvest is going to be the team’s main villain, and I hate Harvest. Even though there was an entire story arc about him, we still know virtually nothing about him. He is just a typical “Muah-hah-hah! I am going to take over the world!” villain. He says that it was always his plan for The Ravagers to escape, but what sort of plan is that? I fail to see how this would be any benefit to him. It is certainly possible that Mackie and Defalco know exactly what Harvest’s agenda is and how it will affect the Ravagers, but I fear Harvest might be used as nothing more than a plot device to throw different villains at The Ravagers. Time will tell, but at the moment, the continuation of Harvest leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

In addition, Thunder’s dialogue continues to be awkward. I do not know if this is being done intentionally, but it feels really off to me.

The Sunny Side

On the flip side, almost all of the strong points of the first issue return in the second. The characters continue to develop, and they are not cookie cutter characters that automatically decide to bond together for the good of humanity as is the case with some team books (I’m looking at you Teen Titans). Churchill’s art continues to be high quality, but I did find the first few pages to be a little off which might be due to the rain affect that was layered over the panels.

Shadow Walker

Shadow Walker was exactly the kind of villain needed for this stage. He managed to be menacing, but not so menacing that he would stop The Ravagers for long. His powers were interesting and his visual style worked well, but I am a little concerned that there might be too many fantastical elements in this series. I like for series to feel grounded in reality, yet we've encountered a lot of characters that look more than a tad bizarre in these first two issues.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed the first issue or the premise intrigues you, this is worth picking up, but Harvest makes me nervous. Hopefully, Mackie has a plan to develop Harvest into a fully formed villain.