There’s a lot of interest around this series, so much so that two writers/reviews from Comic Bastards are going to give their thoughts on the title. Sit back and see what Jordan and Connor had to say about the second issue of Dark Horse, Gerard Way and Becky Cloonan’s The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Jordan: 4/5

Gerard Way did The Umbrella Academy and blew my socks off. An interesting cast of likable characters, just-zany-enough plot and an all-around decadently original world had me looking online for action figures right upon completion. To step back into the non-musical work of Mr. Way was very, very exciting for me. So, has The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys lived up to that oh so high standard for me? Yes and no.

That same originality that got me so into Way’s previous project is there. This is a world populated by some incredibly out there characters, villains and heroes alike, and the driving forces and motivations on display here can be equally interesting. Things like parasitic masks and raver cult- vigilantes make for one of the more intriguing comic universes around but unfortunately for TSLOTFK sometimes the extra coating of weird feels a little more makeupy, than real McCoy.

In that vein I feel a bit disjointed when every character is so attractive, shiny-clean and anime-attired. The whole aesthetic betrays the story we’re supposed to believe, a hard-boiled tale about a desperate group of people fighting an impossible enemy. Why is everyone’s hair so perfect? It just doesn’t add up.

That said there is a lot this book gets right, particularly throwing you around to so many locales and pairing you with so many colorful characters that you can`t help but feel like Battery City could be a real, layered, breathing place. The book also establishes a very attractive fiction where big events feel big and manages to be written so that when one of the story’s spikey-doed up-and-coming heroes rallies the troops you want to stand up and whoop with him as part of the crowd. An interesting set of creature/landscape designs help fill everything out as well.

Things ramp up in this issue as a greying Cherri-Cola and “The Girl” reunites for the first time in a long time to play their part in the destruction of the BL/Ind Corporation and the heroes of the desert plot to overthrow the corrupted “Bat” city. I did have a little bit of a hard time following the plot at times due to having to follow so many characters and having such a complex plot mixed with the names of the people/places being strange and hard to remember at times. Qualms aside The True lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is interesting, entertaining and refreshingly different and I am hooked until the end of this kooky tale.

Connor:

It’s been difficult for me to decide what I think of this series. The story seems a little jittery and disjointed. I'm not sure if this is because I don't know the prequel that was told in My Chemical Romance's last album or if it is because of the story telling in these issues alone.

Sometimes I struggle reading stories that have an already established set of past events, I quite often feel lost and confused. I do get the feeling however those things will smooth out and be revealed as the series goes on. The story, from what I can gather and understand does interest me and I do like the art, my only hope is that it continues to get better because I do want to read more of this and enjoy it.

Writers: Gerard Way & Shuan Simon

Artist: Becky Cloonan

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: 7/10/13