I haven’t had such a drastic change between Issue #1 and #2 in a long time. Gateway opened with such a bang. Out of all my reviews this week, I looked forward to this read the most. Last month, we met up with Police Officer Jake Ryan. This dude seems pretty legit and loved his badass attitude. But don’t think this story is another cop drama, because we soon see a drug bust gone wrong. Jake dies and is now a part of a community called Hopetown. Yeah this place doesn’t sound conspicuous at all. No one really knows what this town is or what is outside of the town except for a select few. Instead the people here build a community around God and offer protection for those who have seen the outside world. I view this place as purgatory. In-between heaven and hell. I have a feeling this “in-between” state will be a recurring theme in the comic. Jake doesn’t take kindly to what the initiation groups have to say so decides to investigate around the place. His mind is made up though, no doubt. I think the only thing holding him back is his new friend, Jessica. This girl has a story, but then again who doesn’t in a place like this? I find it weird how fast these two connect. Not that Jake is ready to give up everything for her, but it seems this woman wants something from Jake.
I am curious to see who Jake befriends while in this world. This chick seems like she will be one, but then he clearly needs a group. I am sure he will start to investigate Hopetown or other towns. Plus why the hell isn’t Jake freaking out like every other dead person. I mean you are dead dude and didn’t even go to heaven. My first instinct would be to see why I didn’t get to meet the Big-Guy, and if I can follow my loved ones on Earth... but whatever.
A soldier, working for the leaders of Hopetown, leads Jake around some of the area. He talks about how the people who refuse their town go to all different places. One of the biggest places is called Freedom Town. Still sounds like a suspicious name to me. We also get a glimpse of life outside the compound, and it is quite interesting.
This was one of the reasons why I didn’t enjoy this issue. We get to see this other life form right on the cover. We even got to see it as a teaser last issue. It wasn’t very surprising. It was also very zombie like which we all know is overplayed. I am hoping that we can see other life forms in numbers and see how they are functioning.
The issue was just slow moving and sped up at the wrong moments. You actually wanted to hear more about Jake’s story and Jessica’s story. But those parts were skipped over. Then if some zombie creature was going to attack Jake then show a bunch of nasty-ass creatures lurking around and attacking Hopetown. It was all wrong. I found it most strange how Mason wasn’t mentioned at all either. He was our main villain but no one ever talked of him. An issue can always stray from their main characters, but doing it so soon is a mishap.
All in all, I was disappointed with how Gateway entered into their second issue. I think the issue was a transition issue to get Jake from one place to another, but come on dudes. We shouldn’t be seeing this right now. But like me, don’t give up just yet. Gateway will probably bring in some interesting discoveries with issue three. Jake has got a lot of ground to cover.
Score: 2/5
Writer: Joe Halpin Sr. Artist: Juanfrancisco Moyano Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 2/5/14