Appropriately enough, Two-Face #2 from DC Comics makes the series two for two when it comes to one, important factor: being really, really good.
Written by Christian Ward, with art by Fábio Veras, the second issue finds Harvey Dent mediating a divorce dispute between two members of the Royal Flush Gang. If they do get divorced? One of them dies. And while that’s going on, Harvey is trying to suss out who is behind the scenes manipulating events.
After an excellent premiere issue, other, lesser comics would have let go of the trial-of-the-month formula set up therein. But Ward smartly sticks with it, melding a procedural format with ongoing serialized storytelling. The case is fun, and uses some generally C or D Tier villains; while tying it to Harvey and his mental battles with his Two-Face personality only helps to balance the whole affair. In fact, it’s almost like… Hold on a second… There are two sides to this comic book?
Anyway, Ward is ably aided by Veras on art, along with Ivan Plascencia’s excellent coloring. In particular, sequences set inside the mind prison Harvey has banished Two-Face to are both cleverly written and beautifully drawn. Despite the scarred visage of the main character, this book is gorgeous to look at.
And to shout out one more member of the team, Lake Cantwell, Harvey’s new assistant, gets a unique power I don’t think I’ve ever seen before in a comic book that ties into the overall thematic ideas Ward is playing with: she can essentially hear danger. As always, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou letters the hell out of this sequences, making them as surprising and unique to look at as the powers themselves.
Last issue I noted this has the opportunity to become DC’s version of Jeff Lemire’s Moon Knight, mostly thanks to the mental gymnastics the main character is going through. This still has shades of that, but to call it out perhaps implies it’s derivative in some way. It’s not. This is the most unexpected, exciting take on a Batman villain in years and something that pushes Two-Face forward in a way that — if it sticks the landing — could be a defining run for the character. So far, two issues in, this team is well on the way to sticking that landing.
Two-Face #2 Rating:
Two-Face #2 Official Synopsis:
In the underworld court known as the White Church, Harvey Dent is asked to litigate the divorce of the Royal Flush Gang’s King and Queen of Hearts. But there’s much more at stake than assets at this trial — in fact, it’s a matter of life and death! When cheating allegations surround the King, it’s up to Harvey and his new assistant Lake Cantwell, to clean up the monarch’s mess. And why does Harvey get the sneaking suspicion that someone is pulling the strings and threatening to send Gotham’s criminal underworld into a frenzy?
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