The Perhapanauts #2 (Image – Dezago / Rousseau)
There’s that old cliche where you should not judge a book by the cover. Perhaps in comics, it’s the inside cover. From the inside cover of Perhapanauts #2 :
There are places in this world where the fabric of reality has worn thin where strange and terrible creatures have crossed over to lurk in the shadows of the night. There is an organization dedicated to finding these creatures and sending them back whence they came, sealing the rift behind them, and main taining the integrity of those borders. The organization is called Bedlam. Its agents are…the Perhapanauts!
If this was a mission statement, I think “strange and terrible creatures” would need a little more definition to separate them from the other monster hunter comics out there. It was that theme that drove me as I read the entire comic: would this be Hellboy Light or Men In Black with a brighter palette?
The Parhapanauts is a brilliant name for a group of heroes, and I was hoping to understand what a “Parhapanaut” was as the back cover had a wonderful E.C. feeling to it. I wanted to know more! This issue starts with Molly giving an update where the first issue left off. The first panel of this second issue got me grounded on what was happening rather well (Thanks Todd, this is something other comic writers should be thinking when writing their second issue in a series). I had a nice feel of the characters as I tuned the pages. The character subplots were varied, humorous and started fleshing out some unique personalities which diluted the plot a bit. However, in an age where plot overrides character, this is a wonderful change. As I am totally new to the Perhapanauts, the story by Todd Dezago was enough to capture my attention, and Craig Rousseau’s artwork pulled the panels forward in a fun fashion.
As I finished this second issue, I thought of my niece who watched Men in Black with me, and who still has my “Leave it to Chance” graphic novel. I can hand this copy off to her for the strong female characters and for the pure fun of the Perhapanauts.
I just hope she doesn’t ask me what a Perhapanaut is. Maybe I should just use Google like everyone else…
This review was by guest reviewer Mike Heffron.
