I was waiting with great anticipation for issue two of the Juice Squeezers.  Issue one was such a huge hit for me that I want to see where issue two takes this book.  In issue two Billy meets three of the six Juice Squeezers in Lizzy, Charlie, and Eric after he falls from the sinkhole he was working in.  Billy asked the three “adventurers” why they were down in the tunnels; the gang quickly responds that they are down in the tunnels as part of an explorer’s club trip.  Billy offers the kids to come with him outside through the sinkhole opening, but Eric refuses and what to leave back through the tunnel system.  Billy warns them that the tunnels aren’t really stable, and that their best bet to get out is through where he fell. The next day, Billy apologizes to his father for falling into sinkhole and for not being careful; his father tells him to forget about it and that he is glad that he is safe.  Billy then convinces his father that the old elevator shaft in the farm would make for a good elevator for his clubhouse he is working on, but what he really wants to use it as is a trap to see if the giant bugs exist.

Back at the school, the kids debrief Mr. Kettleborn of their progress in the tunnels. Mr. Kettleborn decides that due to the risk of Billy being aware of the kids being around the far, that now their mission should be done in the nights this makes the kids concern because it will be during the school week. Meanwhile back at school, Billy meets up with Lizzy, Charlie and Eric during lunch which leads to a very awkward situation where the kids don’t know whether to hang out with him or not.  Lizzy feels bad about the situation, and tries to convince Eric and Charlie that they should invite him over, but the boys refuse. After school, Billy heads back to farm to see if his trap caught anything and to his surprise Billy catches one of the bugs that the kids are exterminating during the night.

Issue two of Juice Squeezers was a very strong issue.  A lot of cool little moments happen in this issue that brought a smile to my face. Like the bet that Morko and Eric have to see if Kettleborn is Popper’s dad and if he does it Eric would eat a bug was funny. It’s just something kids would do and it brought a smile to my face.  I also liked how they have slowly integrated Billy into the story; his journey to find out for himself if these bugs exist is great because it doesn’t feel like they are rushing the character to find out the secret.  He is slowly putting it together without having the kids necessarily tell him what is going on. The art in this book is also fantastic, the cartoony like style art and the great use of colors, makes me feel at points that I am reading a Saturday morning cartoon rather than a comic book. To me that is just how good the art is in this book.  Overall a strong issue with a lot of development and sweet moments that moves the story along with some great artwork.

Score: 4/5

Writer/Artist/Creator: David Lapham Colorist: Lee Loughridge Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 2/5/14