“Exquisite Corpses” Comic Book Issue 2 – Review

From co-writers Michael Walsh and James Tynion IV, Exquisite Corpses issue 2 continued to amp up the tension as some of the citizens of Oak Valley began to realize something wasn’t right.

I was looking forward to reading the second chapter after the impressive giant-size debut issue of Exquisite Corpses last month. The fan in me wanted the second chapter to be giant-size as well. However, I understand the book returning to the regular number of pages. And in a way, nothing was lost. The creative team’s able to keep the action and suspense going while working with fewer pages.

With the Lone Gunman having drawn first blood by killing Leopold Strong in the previous issue, the second installment opened with the rich folks reacting to the surprise development. The side bets were still on, with the family being represented by Leopold Strong accepting the uncertain nature of the twisted game they have been playing for decades. They can still bet on the other killers and be part of the tournament that way.

A major development was the $5 billion reward for anyone who could take the Lone Gunman out. It made sense for the players to gang up on a specific family in a game that’s supposed to determine who gets to “rule” over the other rich lineages until the next tournament. The Lone Gunman not realizing he’s got a huge target on his back does make things a lot more interesting. I wonder if another killer will let slip about the reward or if the Lone Gunman will somehow receive a message from the family he’s representing to keep his guard up.

As for the elimination in the latest issue, it was because of The Congregation vs Pretty Boy. I liked how the creative team handled The Congregation walking into Mike’s petrol station and proceeding to kill Rob instead. Mike being too afraid to help Rob while he begged for his life until his last breath felt quite real. The same goes for Mike whimpering on the floor, waiting to be The Congregation’s next victim. No matter how brave one might think themselves to be, you can never be sure about your reaction when stuff actually happens!

Pretty Boy arrived at the nick of time to make quick work of The Congregation. Pretty boy seems to possess formidable hand-to-hand combat skills. He’s also more interested in leaving Oak Valley instead of staying around until the end of the tournament. He straight-up asked Mike to help him get out of Dodge. I highly doubt the Groundskeeper will allow Pretty Boy or anyone else to simply leave. So, I’m interested in learning how the Groundskeeper plans to keep people, including dangerous murderers, inside the arena.

While offing two killers over two issues might feel rushed, I think the narrative explained the situation well. The beginning of the game was about luck as the killers tried to find their hidden caches containing their weapons of choice. They also needed some time to plan their strategies and size up their opponents. I can see the confrontations lasting longer in the upcoming chapters.

Talking about the rest of the civilians, Xavi continued to get in contact with his boyfriend Craig even though phones and radios weren’t working. Laura and her partner met Nurse Pete, who managed to manipulate the confused EMT duo into taking Leopold Strong’s body to the hospital. Laura’s suspicious of Nurse Pete. So, that’s going to cause some nice trouble soon. Craig and Jason bumped into G4M3R Kid while Lady Carolina walked into ‘Big Bruce Auto Sales’ and was greeted by Audrey and Bruce.

I’m so here for the civilian characters being linked to some of the players in such a manner. The linkups do raise the tension quite a bit because the civilians are unaware of who they are actually around. I don’t see Bruce surviving the tournament. Mike will likely get a moment where he finds the courage to save someone’s life. Said moment may or may not involve him sacrificing himself. 

The art by Walsh and Marianne Ignazzi continued to serve the story well, with there being a distinct visual difference between the scenes occurring inside Oak Valley and the room from which the rich families were watching the tournament unfold. I enjoyed the visual presentation of the gore in the scene where The Congregation killed Rob and proceeded to cut up his skin. Nurse Pete’s introduction to Laura while standing in front of the van’s blinding headlights was also a nice touch.

I highly recommend picking up this comic book!

Did you read Exquisite Corpses issue 2? What did you think of it?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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