With the first issue I could totally see the appeal of turning Z-Men into a TV series. As I previously said, the story is very balanced. That said, it was still too new for me to go all in on it and become a dedicated reader and future viewer. This issue though, it’s got me as a reader. I’m curious to see this as a TV show because with the right casting it could be really good. But back to the comic. What I really enjoy about this series is that it uses the rule of three for the jokes. In the previous issue there was a running gag about Agent Stuart’s sideburns that was actually funny. They did the joke three times and that was it. They knew it was funny, but they didn’t kill the joke. In this issue, there’s another running gag and they stay true to the rule of three. Actually, there’s a fourth joke, but that’s when they swerve it and did something different which was just great.
As for the actual story we begin with Agent Stuart fighting off the zombie that attacked him last time. These two seem to be the only two unaware of them being undead, which plays into the story some. Eventually they make it to the police station. If you’re reading the other Double Take books like Soul and Honor, then you know that Chief McClelland is out and about. The Agents eventually make it to the Chief and get an inkling of what’s going on, but the Chief is surprised that they don’t have answers for him.
Again, I like the balance of this story. It also has the most going on in it at times because I didn’t even make it half way through the issue with my summary. There’s new characters introduced and we hear Clancy’s report that’s read to the President and it’s… kind of stupid and awesome. I mean it makes sense, but because we have so much more info we know that it’s not 100% correct or is it? That’s the great thing, if you’re reading the other titles then I’ll just say that Clancy’s assessment isn’t that far off it seems.
It’s not that I think there’s bad art on any of the Double Take titles, but there’s definitely books that have better art than others. I think that Z-Men is one of those titles and I’m grateful for it. Humor lives and dies by the artwork. The artwork does a great job of selling the jokes. The facial expressions continue to give our main characters and supporting cast a lot of personality. There were a couple of panels that lacked some detail, but overall the art is fairly consistent throughout the issue and tends to look the most like the era the series is set in.
If you had some doubts about the last issue, maybe you felt like it was a hollow story or something, then I would encourage you take off your hater-blockers and give this second issue a try. It has humor, action and two characters that are kind of bumbling idiots as the leads. What’s not to like about that? If that’s not enough, then at least enjoy the shotguns at point blank to zombie heads.
Score: 4/5
Z-Men #2 – All The President’s Men Story: Jeff McComsey, Bill Jemas Script: Jeff McComsey Layouts/Pencils: Kurt Tiede Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Release Date: 11/11/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital