Titan Comics continues the saga of Return to Skull Island, doing mostly more of the same. With the silencing of one character (RIP Bird) comes a lot more yammering from others. With all that noise there’s not quite as much time for action. The question is, does less action and more yapping make a difference for better or worse?
Issue 2 follows two sets of characters. Charlie is getting eaten by pachyderms and then getting cut out by his Iwi protector—and delivering snarky and humorous narration and monologues throughout his misadventures. His dad is doing what he can to treat Kong’s envenomation at the hands, er, tentacles of the Kraken. Back in the US, Annie is having trouble adapting to life as a student, while her mom is clueless as to how she can ease the transition for her daughter. A new monster has arrived to challenge Kong on Skull Island, and seems to be controlling the smaller creatures to make them attack the Iwi villages, while Annie and Mike plot to return to Skull Island to save Charlie.
This issue feels a little slower than the first, focusing more on moving the plot forward. There’s not much action, and a great deal of the book is back in the US. For a few panels we see some familiar monster faces from Skull Island including the awful Horncrest Chameleon creatures that should’ve just been Skull Crawlers. More important, the fist that brought about Kong’s bird’s last squawk in the last issue is revealed to belong to a big sludge monster with a fungal infection that makes Godzilla Island’s Neo Hedorah seem inspired. It’s got a domed top that gives its silhouette a strong Orga vibe. The thing eventually battles Kong, though the fight ends quickly and indecisively, so you can count on “Orgedorah” or whatever it’s called to show up in a future issue to give the sasqu—I mean Kong some more trouble.
The art is once again the highlight. It’s not my favorite aesthetically speaking, but it does a good job translating the show’s art style into comic book panels. The characters are all on model, the coloring is nice and vibrant, and I never had trouble following anything. I suppose it’s a little interesting getting to see Annie in a school uniform instead of her more feral attire from the show. Dog seems a little bigger than he was before, but Annie says that he's gotten fat so perhaps that was the intent. Nothing stands out as especially good or bad.
This comic has a number of different covers. The standard release Cover A by artist The Knott is a very well-executed painted image of Kong grappling with the new sludge monster. Kong seems to be in control of the fight, bearing down on the fungus fiend. Cover B by Christopher Jones matches the art style of the show and comic panels more with a less detailed battle, this time depicting Kong and the Kraken. The Kraken has its tentacles wrapped around Kong’s neck, zapping him with electricity. Cover C by Diego Yapur features Kong and lounging in a giant throne with his now-dead bird hovering just above his shoulder. They’re looking down at a bunch of little gremlin things that are climbing up toward them. Kong looks more annoyed than anything, as he doesn’t appear to be getting up. It makes the cover look more goofy than anything. This cover art is also available in a black and white variant.
I feel like a broken record. The comic seems to be succeeding at what it’s setting out to do. If you enjoyed the show, you'll probably enjoy this. There isn’t as much action this time around, but the humor is in line with what we’ve seen before. Sadly, I didn’t like the show, and I didn’t like the first issue. The characters are annoying, especially Annie. The comedy never lands. The creatures are easily the worst of the Monsterverse. A guy gets eaten alive and survives within the animal for what had to have been several minutes without even needing to be resuscitated. Skull Island, and now Return to Skull Island, make Godzilla × Kong: The New Empire (2024) feel like a thinking man’s movie, and it doesn’t have any of the pros needed to get away with that.
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