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Creative Team: Soo Lee (Writer), Domenico Carbone (Artist), Chiara Di Francia (Colorist), Jeff Eckleberry (Letterer), Nate Cosby (Packager & Editor)
CHEETARA Published by Dynamite Entertainment
Check out my review on Issue #1 HERE!
FIRST THOUGHTS
Last issue readers were taken back to a time prior to the Thundercats fleeing Thundera and learned that Cheetara had visions of something coming that she could not explain. This issue is a continuation of that with her visions becoming more vivid and her concern growing.
THE STORY
Soo Lee did a great job last issue setting up the time period and the characters readers are getting to know in the main series. The title of the series is a focus on Cheetara, but the story is not hers alone as Lee surrounds Cheetara with a strong cast of supporting characters like Jaga and Tygra. Lee also uses the series to introduce Cheetara (and readers) to other characters that play much larger roles in the future of the Thundercats like Lynx-O, Wilykit, and Wilykat while maintaining the forward momentum needed to tell this particular story.
There’s always a fear of a story about a character who sees visions or who has a feeling that things are going to get bad for the people in their lives and no one believes them. The story becomes more about them trying to convince everyone they’re telling the truth and not crazy. Lee leans into the fact that these characters have known Cheetara for a long time and trust her, trust her instincts. They may not understand what she sees, but they know she’s concerned and has fear for what’s to come and that’s a refreshing take. The scene with Claudus and Jaga after Cheetara comes to speak with Claudus about her visions shows they believe her and plan to act on that trust.
THE ART
The art in this issue from Domenico Carbone, Chiara Di Francia, and Jeff Eckleberry remains strong from the first issue and continues to build with this issue.
The scenes with Cheetara’s visions are abrupt and have a unique look to them from the rest of the issue, and it draws the reader’s eye in to see what they can find within the vision. This kind of visual storytelling is a great addition to the written story because the reader can now inject themselves into the story and see what they can discover as Cheetara does the same.
Carbone’s linework throughout this issue is loose and doesn’t rely on a lot of heavy linework or scratchy linework to define it. Each character is depicted with a sparing use of lines and allowing Di Francia’s colors to add that extra definition and it’s a nice show of teamwork between the two artists. Eckleberry’s letting is still top notch as the placement of dialogue provides the tone and flow of the story being told through words.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is a solid second issue to the miniseries. The issue is left with a cliffhanger that could be leaning into Cheetara’s vision. We’ll have to wait to see what happens in the next issue to confirm. This series continues to be a great addition to the larger Thundercats story that’s being told at Dynamite, and I do hope we see more of it down the road.
RATING: 8 out of 10 gnarly spiders
Thanks for checking out my review for the NI Comics Bullpen. Let me know what you comics you’re reading and hit me up on Twitter / X.
