Two years ago I checked out Corrsolla Robot while at New York Comic Con. I enjoyed it but largely due to the art. It was a very fantasy driven story full of escapist themes. Escape your mundane life by having a chance encounter with a magical being. There were some confusing elements in the first issue that left me wondering the exact outcome of the issue, but thankfully after diving into the second issue everything was cleared up. Our main character Ceri’s comic book creation Corrsolla has come to life and wrapped around her like armor. We learn from the angel that’s not trying to kill Ceri that Corrsolla is the earth’s last hope and that she and Ceri must learn to work together to save the planet. Our now wingless angel Cassiel is opposed to this and feels that humans can’t be trusted. We learn more about Ceri’s life and wait from Cassiel to attack by turning another angel into a T-Rex.
This story is fantasy, but then also very meta. I think that’s why I like it. The creator and the character share the same name. The comic Ceri has a comic book about Corrsolla and everything that her Corrsolla does is in her comic book. There’s just this great bit of back and forth and it becomes a joke at times because of it. There’s a lot of humor in the comic as well. Not all of the jokes land. There’s just not enough of a report with the characters yet and unfortunately comic Ceri and her new pizza delivery boy kind of talk the same. The writing just relies on Ceri to be the butt of the joke too much or deliver the punchline which often breaks her from what she’s doing too often.
Otherwise the story’s pacing is a little off. We have a bit too much downtime from the beginning to the end, but I did enjoy that the story begins on action and didn’t have to do the “let’s rewind and see how we got here.” Stromberg has a bit to go before this is a well-polished story. There’s a lot of convenient writing for the sake of moving the story along. That and the dialogue tends to be more exposition than natural flowing conversations.
The artwork continues to be visually striking and a huge part of what makes the story work. Stromberg even address her two angels that look the same with a joke, which may be a design choice or just her own skills developing. The action scenes were a little jumbled and hard to tell what was exactly happening each time, but the overall style is great. Its influenced by manga/anime, but has an American twist to it. I could stare at Stromberg’s art all day I really enjoy it. She’s a talented visual storyteller as well and I think if she starts to rely on the art telling the story more than the dialogue there will be a shift in the quality of the storytelling.
You will definitely need to have read the first issue to understand and enjoy this second issue. If you’re a female reader looking for a comic that appeals to you more than men in tights, then I would check this series out. Now that’s not to say that men won’t enjoy the book because I’m a man and I enjoyed reading it, just that female readers might latch on to this faster than the average male reader. And if you’re not reading it… well that’s your loss.
Score: 3/5
Corrsolla Robot #2 Creator: Ceri Stromberg Self-Published Format: Print Website