Die vol 2 by Kieron gillen

Vol 2: Split the Party,​ illustrated by Stephanie Hans
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From the previous volume, the party gets stuck in the middle of a war zone, and the only way to escape it is for Angela to make yet another sacrifice. Once out, the party splits. Isabelle feels responsible for the people of Glass Town and wants to find a place for them to live, while the rest of the party is still insistent that getting home should be their number one priority. Chuck decides to go with Isabelle, but the rest of the party is off to Angria to confront their past, specifically some of the consequences of their actions from the last time they were in Die, with the hope that something will come of this to get them home. Ash is reunited with Zamorna, a vampire Lord and the father of her son in Die, and Ash decides the only way to leave Die is to save it all, not just Glass Town.

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This volume suffered a little bit from the sophomore slump in that the narrative direction is a little bit jumbled and not as laser focused as volume one. Ash decides to become an all-powerful dictator and queen of a large swath of Die, so now she'll be involved in internal politics instead of just focused on getting home. This jump is a little bit strange considering that Ash was the loudest voice for leaving Die in the first volume. Aside from this problem, getting more into the world of Die and the different societies was really interesting. Now that we're going that way, I am intrigued by this plan for world domination and seeing how powerful (and possibly corrupted) Ash will be as we're on the downward spiral of the hero's journey. 

Hans' illustrations are still some of my favorite with the beautiful coloring and etherial nature to them. Gillen succeeds in creating a rich fantasy world, but Hans excels at bringing that to life on the page.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 11-12

Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: February 11, 2020
ISBN: 9781534314979 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Fantasy, Friendship, Magic, Survival, Image Comics