Writer: Joseph Keatinge
Artist: Bret Blevins
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Published by: Image Comics
Stellar #2 still has the problem from the first issue in that it has a lot of potential, but just does not deliver. It seems like the story is trying to do too much, so nothing is really clarified or done in a way that flows.
The reader gets a bit more backstory on the characters through flashbacks which is nice, but still enough is not explained or shown which can cause some confusion. The three characters’ motivations at the beginning for fighting with Stellar make no sense. The dialogue is improved from the first issue, but still has some awkwardness to it. So far, the only likable character seems to be Melan. Stellar herself is too much of an undeveloped wet blanket to really root for. Between bizarre pacing and some iffy art, the story can get very confusing. It doesn’t seem like the book knows what it wants to be. As stated before, there are interesting ideas, but nothing explored yet. It could be this series would have been better as a single graphic novel as opposed to a monthly series. At least the ending was well done and intrigues one to read further despite its faults.
On the plus side, the splash pages and monster design are strong. Unfortunately, as with the first issue, this makes the amateur level art for most of the book stick out more. There is a nice blurb at the end from the artist which explains more on his process with this book and is worth a read. The lettering is very nice. Flashbacks are shown with a tan color to differentiate them from the present, which works relatively well.
Overall, if the reader didn’t like book one, book two is unlikely to change their mind.
