adventureman vol 2 by Matt Fraction

Vol 2: A Fairy Tale of New York, illustrated by Terry and Rachel Dodson

Claire and her family adjust to her life as the modern-day Adventureman incarnation, and that means getting sucked into dastardly plots. Claire meets a Chris, Central Park buggy driver who a descendant of the Crossdraw Kid. The Kid is a title passed down from generation to generation, and Chris' grandpa was one of Adventureman's former allies. The two try to figure out why the ghosts of New York Past have been way more active and violent. Just as these ghosts kick up their ghastly ways, Claire is running out of the serum that gives her the Adventureman powers, so it's up to her family to discover the formula while still making it in time for son Tommy's opening night of A Christmas Carol​.

---

New York at Christmastime is already a magical place, so throw in the on-the-nose allusions and parallelisms of A Christmas Carol, and you've got another entertaining outing for Adventureman. This volume is definitely not as strong as the first, and the wrap up from the cliffhanger from volume one could definitely have been included there instead of being the beginning of this volume. There could have also been a lot more flashbacks and parallels between the old-timey Adventureman and his pals, as that was much of the appeal of the first volume. However, I can see Fraction and team wanting to break ranks with their origin story in favor of establishing this new timeline, so as long as the flashbacks don't stop all together, I'll probably still be along for the ride.

The art from the Dodson team is not quite as crisp as the previous volume, but they explain their methods in the end matter and I am appreciative of their efforts to try to better their art form. 

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: November 8, 2022
ISBN: 9781534322141 (Hardcover)

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Action Adventure, Family, Image Comics