This issue is really mellow compared to the previous issue in the volume. It wasn’t quite what I expected and I’m not 100% sure what it’s building towards, which is a shame since there’s a few reveals in this issue. The story kicks off in the past with our dead Senator as a child once again. We meet his nanny Mary as she arrives for her first day at work. The only people in the house are young Robert and the Butler. We see young Robert’s room and its a room from your childhood dreams. He has an indoor tree house and a fireman pole running between two floors. Not to mention the toys and comic books we see lying around. Mary attempts to make some connection to young Robert, but eventually his puppet talks for him. It’s pretty clear that the puppet isn’t Robert talking… or is it?

Back in the present we find Elise and Edgar hiding from two women wearing gas masks. They look around for them and even call them by name, but they stay in hiding. The two women leave and Elise and Edgar find a new way out and see them drive off.

In the van we find an all-female rock back talking about what they should do with Pike. They talk for quite a while before Pike interrupts and informs them that he can in fact hear everything they’re saying since he’s sitting in the back seat. It’s interesting because he’s kind of kidnapped, but is he?

Really what saves this issue is the female rock band, but at the same time they illustrate what’s become a problem with this second volume… too many characters. The story has always had a lot of characters, but most were one-off characters for a particular issue. The core characters that we were checking in with remained the same. Now the story is adding more characters and the focus in this issue just wasn’t clear. I understand that Robert and his death is important to the story, but really it’s time to reveal why it’s important rather than trying to develop a character that’s already expired. Frankly I feel like I know Robert better than I do Elise and Edgar and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

Even still the female rock band is this volumes Sasquatch. They’re awesome and all four ladies have their own unique personalities. They’re interesting for sure and what they’re effect on the story will be remains to be seen.

Sadly I do have a minor gripe with the art… it’s improving too quickly! Phil Sloan is clearly improving as an artist. The art in this issue changes somewhat and while I can’t point out a lot of examples I can point to the most obvious one… the noses. It’s a dead giveaway and while it’s not bad, it does change the style that made the first volume so enjoyable. But hey, Sloan’s art is growing and changing and that’s awesome to see. So let’s call this a non-complaint complaint.

Marissa Louse is a great addition to the comic and her coloring has continued the work that David Halverson and Phil Sloan established with the series early on. I actually think that her coloring is the best on the series as it gives Sloan’s art more depth.

While this may not be my favorite issue in the series, there’s still plenty to like about it. Don’t get me wrong there. The creative team has done a phenomenal job on this title and so while I have minor hang-ups about this issue it’s actually still good and I’m sure the rest of the series will be just as good if not better.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Eric Grissom Artist: Phil Sloan Colorist: Marissa Louise Publisher: Frankenstein’s Daughter Price: $1.99 Release Date: 10/22/14 Format: Digital Website