By Cat Wyatt

The second issue of Heavenly Blues starts off on a bit of a somber note. Erin lived back in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. If you’re asking yourself if that was during the time of the Salem Witch Trials, then the answer is yet. If I hadn’t seen Erin’s vibrant hair among the crowd during the execution of the ‘witches’ I would have been terrified to see her up there on the gallows. That’s not something I’d wish for anyone, but especially not a girl as young as her.

That being said, apparently the whole village things it’s merely a matter of time before Erin is seen up there. Rumor has it that the judge overseeing the witch trials (Hathorne) is more concerned about the gold he earns during these despicable acts than he about finding actual witches. He’ll accuse anyone he pleases, so long as the accusation nets him a profit. It’s only natural to assume then, that a woman like Erin would become a target, having nobody but her mother to speak up for her (and her reputation on the matter appears to be tarnished, so her word wouldn’t mean much, sadly).

One would think that Erin would be terrified by the idea that she’d be next, but instead the idea of Hathorne being money hungry appears to have inspired an idea in her head. Which sort of makes sense. If Erin had died because she was accused of being a witch (when she obviously wasn’t one) that wouldn’t be enough to condemn her to the afterlife she’s living now. At least, I would sincerely hope it wouldn’t be enough. That means she had to do something to earn her place here…

Back to the present, in hell, we see Erin in a…support group. It appears the group is designed to talk about how they died (and probably how they earned their place here as well). It makes sense, death would be pretty traumatic for many, and I imagine many who end up where Erin is did not go quietly into the night, so to speak.

Meanwhile their plan to break into heaven has hit a snag. They need more people in order to have any chance of pulling it off, but more people means more risk. The more people that know, the more likely something is to go wrong (or the more likely somebody is to run their mouth).

First things first, they need their infiltration specialist. Meet  Hideki Iwata. He’s probably the best they could hope for, but the problem is…he’s got an addiction. What could one possibly be addicted to down in hell? He’s a voyeur, meaning that he’s become hooked on watching people in the real world. That is, people that are alive. From what I can tell, he’s become obsessed with watching his family (we’re on to many-great-granddaughter for this guy). Erin isn’t impressed with him, but blackmails/bribes him with more of the drug he needs, which seems to be enough to get him to help out.

Next up is the getaway driver (or whatever the dead equivalent is). That’s where Coin Counter Turner comes into play. It doesn’t take nearly as much to talk him into agreeing to help out, which is surprising, to be honest. I was expecting more of a fight from him, and I think Johnson was too. But apparently boredom is a good enough reason to take a risky job like this.

And finally they need somebody who can decipher the angel’s code and messages. That’s why they’re in the Egyptian district (I guess it makes sense that there would be districts like this…it just honestly never occurred to me to think of it like that before), where Amunet lives as a slave. She takes more convincing that Turner did, but she also didn’t have to be bribed or blackmailed, so that’s something right?

So now that the team is all together (though when they’re all gathered I almost forgot about Hideki, since he’s slouched off in some corner most of the time), they need to figure out their next step. By bringing all the members of the party together, they’ve sort of forced their own hand. They’re now running on a timer, and they managed to make themselves wanted people in the process. Not good. Not good at all.

This is such a unique and interesting series. Erin’s backstory absolutely broke my heart, even though I had a feeling something like that was coming. I imagine next we’ll be introduced to the other character’s backstories (we already know Johnson’s, but there’s three new characters to talk about now). I really like the world that’s been built, though I’m still not sure how they’re going to pull this heist off.

The artwork for this series is amazing. The cover for issue two is by far my favorite of the series so far, which is saying something. It suits the series perfectly, and it really makes Erin’s story appear that much more tragic (which I didn’t think was possible). I like the rougher quality to the art, it makes it feel more real and fits in well with characters that have been beaten as much as these guys.

Score: 4/5

Heavenly Blues #2
Publisher: Scout Comics