‘Enormous’ #2 gets down and dirty this month to fuck America up. There’s no stopping the radical monstrosities that are assaulting us. They strike without warning, are near invulnerable and can disappear from view in moments. We’re losing hard and fast to a foe we didn’t know existed.
WRITTEN BY: Tim Daniel
ART BY: Mehdi Cheggour
PUBLISHER: 215 Ink
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: August 6, 2014
Reviewed By: Torbin Chimners
Beginning this month’s issue, we’re treated to a giant spiny lizard with six eyes rampaging through Phoenix, Arizona. The army is out in full force here, this isn’t some small rag tag group. So when the monster steamrolls through them like they’re children with peashooters we really get a sense of the threat the monsters pose.
You can tell Mehdi Cheggour is having a lot of fun with all of the mayhem and destruction during this opening. The splash page and double page spread are jaw dropping and awe inspiring. The level of carnage caused by the monsters is on full display. It’s stupendous.
Following the havoc caused in the opening we are whisked all across the states showing that things are terrible. This montage is framed as though someone is flipping through news channels, all reporting on similar attacks in different cities. It’s got a wide variety of cities, instrumental in making you connect with the story. Seeing and reading about one of the monsters erupting from the sea and crushing a ferry, killing all 1,100 onboard, in Seattle actually hit home and sucked me into the story that much more. I’ve been riding ferries all my life and as a small child I was terrified at the thought of a sea monster attacking us during a voyage, so to see it here was personally great for me. I’m betting that the news clips from other major cities will make these fictitious beasts seem a bit more real to others.
It’s horrifying; the stuff of nightmares, but even with this all-encompassing Armageddon Tim Daniel keeps us grounded with our protagonist, Ellen. She’s still reeling from the sudden and gruesome death of her mother last issue and is determined to not let that happen to her girlfriend Megan. I would’ve liked to have more Ellen in this issue. Now that the threat of the monsters has been thoroughly established, I’m excited for future issues to focus on her more.
‘Enormous’ shows no signs of slowing down or becoming dull anytime soon, if ever. Giant monster books are generally all spectacle and no substance, but ‘Enormous’ breaks that mold with stellar writing in addition to its dazzling spectacle. I can’t recommend it enough.
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Torbin Chimners AKA Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter@Vulgar_Rhombus