2 Guns: A Review

With two issues of 2 Guns coming out for November I thought it would be a good time to catch up on my reading as far as this book goes. Considering the fact that I get over 70 titles a month and that I have full time work and school I fall behind on my reading more than I'd like. Luckily I had some free time today and while most of it was spent cleaning (ugh) I made some comic book time. Sometimes it pays off to wait and read several issues of a book at once as I can tell that this book would have been hard to wait for.

2 Guns is a fast-paced action/adventure, with so many layers and twists that it left my head spinning. That's a good thing in this case. Of course now I have to wait impatiently for the last issue.

I haven't experienced a story with this many layers of subterfuge since I started watching Alias (except minus the destiny stuff). From bank robbery, to being undercover, to getting framed, set up by the Navy, getting shot, not knowing who to trust, following the money, committing treason.... well lets just say there's a whole lot going on for a five issue mini series! I salute Steven Grant for his ability to write such a busy story with both style and pizazz. The plot, while complex, fits together one piece at a time and manages to build up the characters all the while. I really developed a fondness for Steadman and Trench as they race through trying to stay one step ahead of, well, just about everyone.

I think I was sold on this book by page 2 of the first issue. The conversation between the two main characters had fantastic timing and immediately gives the reader a feel for their personalities. My favorite line was, "Orange juice and crullers? Some desperado you are."

The art is boldly done but it works well with the genre of the story being told. Santolouco's art reminds me a bit of Ryan Ottley's work on Invincible. Santolouco's work is simpler in the sense that he doesn't work with as much fine detailing but the character expressions seem similar. I really enjoy accessible art like this that allows me to easily identify characters. The other thing the art does well in these comics is the actual action sequences. It's all done very cinematically, which compliments the story beautifully.

My one complaint is that there are quite a few times in these issues where the word bubbles are switched around between characters. It makes things a bit confusing and threw me off of the pace of the story. Hopefully these typos will be caught before this goes to trade.

Overall I had a good time reading these four issues and I'm looking forward to the last installment. I have no idea how Grant can possibly wrap this up in one issue, but if the build up is any indication it should be one hell of a roller coaster ride.