Comic Review: The Empty Man (2018-) #2

The Empty Man #2

BOOM! Studios

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Artist: Jesús Hervás

I’m so glad that The Empty Man is back! So far we are setting up the new world and new characters, but we are treated with plenty of terrifically horrible things along the way. This comic has never been for the weak hearted people and still isn’t. In this issue alone there is a certain discovery of an infant that is not pleasing. You never actually see the brutality, but something like that is too much for some people, and those people are not who Cullen Bunn is writing this for. So here goes issue #2 of The Empty Man Volume 2.

In issue #1 we were following the decline of a wife and mother named Melissa who was slowly succumbing to The Empty Man. Her daughter Vikki was sent to school while her father tried to handle Melissa any way he could. In this issue, our new team of Jensen and Marsh want to talk to Vikki while the Whisper Oracles and their nefarious leader try and get their hands on her mother, Melissa, for some unknown reason. This issue also takes some pages to paint more of the epidemic that The Empty Man is causing in the country; some of these are more bloody than others. Bunn seems like he wants us to understand what Americans are going through and how the media is responsible for the spread of panic and perhaps Empty Man sympathizers.

Cullen Bunn has paced this pretty well. The issue flies by which is good and bad, as always. Issue #3 has been set up to be good and gory. Bunn has decided on a villain for now, and he has his clear-cut protagonists. So far the exposition and the scale of the disease has not grown to a hard to follow mess, and I don’t think it will.

Speaking of the antagonist, Jesús Hervás does an impressive job of making him look menacing and in turn, memorable. The Empty Man can be exceptionally gruesome at times, and Hervás is ready with the pencil to dive into the creepy rabbit hole that Bunn has created. He isn’t afraid to be dark with his artwork, and I applaud him for the wickedness he brings to the team.

The Empty Man is fortunate enough to have an established world and lore to work in, and it feels like Cullen Bunn has picked up right where he left off. This issue was just as good as the last, and I hope the story of the villain is going to come to light soon because he seems like just was the series needs. People who enjoyed the first run of The Empty Man, and last months issue, will still find more to love here. It’s dark. It’s a showcase of the macabre, but it’s captivating as Hell.