[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”18090″ img_size=”411×631″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Home #2 is almost the complete opposite of the debut issue. Rather than the entire issue being “in-your-face” scary with small comic relief sprinkled throughout, now it is the down to earth and grounded but still fun humor that makes up most of the story with the frights sparingly dotted in between. That makes for a much more tense read with you enjoying the humor and banter between Gio and Drew just enough to let your guard down right before its next creepy encounter. Aside from the climactic final cliffhanger almost all of the scares in Home #2 happen like this and it’s all the better for it.
Plot
Home is created and written by Kalani Caraballo, with cover and interior art by Frank Castro, and edited by Chrissy Torres and follows on the story of Gio, his best friend Drew, and his family as they deal with living in a literal hell. This story takes a different turn from the first issue. Rather than beating you over the head with scare after scare it instead looks deeper into Gio and Drew’s personal and social life whilst also showing the lasting effects of dealing with terror after terror. I enjoyed this new change of pace. It allowed for more breathing space and gave us some great character growth for our 2 main stars. The humor that was sparse in the first issue is now way more prominent but it never becomes overwhelming and almost always hit. The issue takes a more serious tone near the end with Gio accepting some guilt for the effects staying at his house had on his best pal Drew and ends with a serious cliffhanger which took me straight back to Home’s first page. It didn’t hold back then and it certainly doesn’t hold back now. The more character driven, laidback feel worked wonders for this issue and is a style I think suits this story much better than its initial somewhat over the top style of terror.
Characters
Once again Gio and Drew are in the limelight for the majority of issue #2 but that seems to be where Home excels so it’s wasn’t a problem for me. I bought into their friendship even more here than I did in issue #1. Their joking and teasing back and forth felt very genuine and the way their friendship progressed throughout very real. Watching them deal with their supernatural night terror’s is made all the more terrifying knowing it’s based on a true story. I found myself empathizing with Gio a lot more in this issue but also found myself agreeing with Drew and understanding his point of view.
Other than Drew and Gio, we do see a lot more of Gio’s family including his extended family close to the end. Seeing more into his parents having to deal with Gio’s constant night terrors was interesting and watching his mother contemplate putting him to a ward was surprisingly deep compared to the rather lighthearted feel of the rest of the comic. It isn’t explored to deep here however and is something I think would be interesting to develop in the future.
Artwork
The same black and white style carries over into this issue and now being accustomed to it, it doesn’t seem so strange. There are once again, certain parts which I think would benefit from a splash of color but it works well enough here. With the terror being dialed down a little in the second issue however those shocking moments which looked really good in black and white don’t happen as often. They do still happen but not quite enough to make up for the lack of color this time around.
Overall I enjoyed issue #2 a lot more than the first. I enjoyed the advancements in Gio and Drew’s friendship and their individual characters, and I liked the overall tonal shift of the whole issue. The artistic choices aren’t a problem for me but a do believe some scenes would have slightly more impact with some color.
If you want to see our thoughts on Home #1 you can check out our review here: Comic Review: Home #1
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