BISHOP #2 – The Return of the Past

Creative Team – Saladin Ahmed, Mario Santoro, Reese Hannigan, Federico Blee, VC’s Travis Lanham, Davide Paratore

Published by Marvel Comics

Catch up with Bishop #1 here!

The Story

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Megan and Shawn!

Shawn – I felt like Saladin Ahmed really turned it up in this issue. It was already going to see Bishop interacting with Shard but Ahmed gave us a payoff that was more than I was expecting. I really like the narrative idea of Shard trying to protect Bishop while Bishop is trying to protect her. It really hammers home the sibling aspect of the story.

Bishop #2 hit the gas right out of the gate with Ahmed not only giving us some great action but some exposition about how we got to this point. I’ve always laughed at the fact that in a world filled with X-Men some of whom have had multiple codenames, Bishop’s has always just been his last name. It’s good to see from Bishop #2 that I’m not the only one.

Megan – Multiplying the energy that we left off on in the previous issue, Saladin Ahmed really kept the energy high throughout this comic. Bishop #2 picks up right where we left off with Lucas Bishop and Shard reuniting, and both are very confused for very different ways. Bishop can’t believe his eyes that his sister, the one he saw die, is back and in the flesh. Shard can’t believe that Bishop is the final Brotherhood target. There are so many emotions in the air, and Ahmed does a great job at showing Bishop struggling with these.

As for the action, it’s constant and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even between the fighting, there’s the tension with Bishop as he tries to navigate how to handle seeing his sister again. Does he warn her about her death? Does he savor the moment? He has little time to figure this out before the action starts back up again. All in all, Bishop #2 brings a lot to the table and continues the high quality of the first issue.

The Art

Shawn – Mario Santoro, Reese Hannigan, and Federico Blee did a really wonderful job on this issue. The art was crisp and clean and the colors were prefect. It was clear this issue was truly a team effort built on good communication because everything just fits. The line work and environments crafted for the panels by Santoro and Hannigan were spectacular. Even if the colors were removed the panels would have so much depth and detail.

Despite that fact, it’s the color work from Federico Blee and lettering from Travis Lanham that really make the story move and breathe. Blee’s colors particularly in the action panels really draw your eyes forcing you to take in the details within the line work. Lanham does a great job with some really impactful SFX. He makes the story flow naturally preventing it from ever feeling too heavy or narratively dense.

Megan – The artists came together to make this issue absolutely stunning. There’s plenty of action in this issue, and the panels are drawn out so detailed that you feel as if you’re right in the middle of the action. Particularly with the fight involving Flamequake, you could feel the intensity of the situation by the body language of the characters or even their expertly drawn expressions. The colors were handled brilliantly, showing a huge amount of different contrasting colors. In some panels, the backgrounds juxtaposed the characters in such a great way that the characters practically popped off the page. With the lettering, I really appreciated being able to feel Bishop’s varying emotions through his words, while having a nice and even flow of dialogue throughout the comic.

Final Thoughts

Shawn – 10/10. This was just a great issue. There’s family drama, action, and tension that you can cut with a knife. I’m really enjoying seeing Bishop front and center and can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

Megan – 10/10. This was an excellent continuation from the first issue that brought even more of the excitement and even higher energy. The creative team is cooking hard here and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

Overall Grade – 10/10

Let us know in the comments what you thought of Bishop #2!