Soul had its ups and downs last time, but overall I was interested in the perspective it was offering. It’s basically Ben’s story, which is going to be a major drawl to anyone that enjoys the universes inspiration Night of the Living Dead. What’s strange to me is the tone of this book. Since I’m reading all of the Double Take books and usually back to back, I’ve seen how other minority characters have been treated in the different series. It’s actually really good because there isn’t this hostility or racism looming over the story. For instance, in Home, the older daughter is dating a black guy and he’s welcomed with open arms. His race is never brought up or in question. It’s just two teens dating.
In Soul, there is a bit of racial undertones. I suppose it’s because it’s Ben and that was part of his role in the film. It’s not bad and I’m honestly glad they’re addressing race since the era it’s based in was still during the Civil Rights Movement. I guess I was just hoping it wouldn’t happen to Ben.
The Chief grills Ben about what went down in the farm house during the big night. Maybe it’s because he survived or maybe it’s just to play up his story, but the Chief comes across as a real cop for the first time in a while. He’s done cop things, but his line of questioning with Ben is very “coppy.”
The issue spends most of its time on this and while it recaps some of the films inspiration which is important to the universe, it doesn’t do much else. I does not address the final page of the first issue which was disappointing because I wanted to find out more of what was happening there. Overall, this is a decent issue. I can see why the creators wanted to take time to include the actual events of the farm house in the comic universe, but that doesn’t make it all that interesting. At least it’s out of the way so that the next issue can hopefully move forward to the next step.
The art is very inconsistent. Its illustrated by two people and it unfortunately looks like it. One artist is very detailed and provides smooth line work and realism, while the other has rough thick line work and goes for a style rather than realism. It’s strange. You’ll also see a ghostly figure in this issue. I don’t recall if they appeared in any of the other issues I reviewed previously, but you’ll see them again in at least a couple of the next books. I’m very curious about this and enjoyed the introduction, but the art for them could have been better. Its smoother and almost unnoticeable in the other issues, but here you should be able to catch it easily.
While Soul takes a dip this issue, I still think it’s an important issue to the series and the shared universe. It adds some canon for everything to play off of and that’s important. I do hope they get the art sorted out soon, because it breaks from the reading experience to see the art shift to a different style. Otherwise, Soul continues to offer a very different perspective in the Double Take universe and I’m glad it exists.
Score: 3/5
Soul #2 – "Good Mourning" Story: Michael Coast, Julian Rowe Script: Michael Coast Layouts: Julian Rowe Pencils: Ricardo Sanchez, Jose Luis Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Release Date: 11/11/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital