Thursday, October 22, 2015

Review: FIGHT CLUB 2 #3

FIGHT CLUB 2 #3
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Chuck Palahniuk
ART: Cameron Stewart
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Nate Piekos of Blambot
COVER:  David Mack
VARIANT COVER: Cameron Stewart
EDITOR: Scott Allie
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2015)

“This is Limbo”

Fight Club 2 is the comic book sequel to the 1996 prose novel, Fight Club, written by author Chuck Palahniuk.  Published by Dark Horse Comics, Fight Club 2 is also written by Chuck Palahniuk, drawn by Cameron Stewart, colored by Dave Stewart, and lettered by Nate Piekos, with cover art provided by painter David Mack.

Fight Club 2 focuses on the unnamed protagonist of Fight Club, who now calls himself “Sebastian.”  A decade ago, he had an army of men ready to take down the modern world.  Now, an assortment of pills and medications have taken him down.  Sebastian is married to Marla Singer, his former co-revolutionary, and they have a son, “Junior.”  All is boring, but an old friend, Tyler Durden, is back, and he may be the reason that Junior has been kidnapped.

Once upon a time, Sebastian led a revolutionary project/movement called “Project Mayhem.”  As Fight Club 2 #3 opens, Sebastian engages the current generation of Project Mayhem, with the ample bruises provided by Marla that will allow him to walk among this new generation.  The search for Sebastian's son begins, while Tyler makes new and even darker plans.

At this point, I can't pretend to be surprised by how good a comic book Fight Club 2 is.  I am enjoying it as much, if not more, than the novel, which I first read sometime in the last decade or so.  Now, I am suspicious of Chuck Palahniuk.  Of course, he is an acclaimed and successful writer of prose (novels and short stories), but his first foray into comic books should not be as well executed as Fight Club 2 is.

Of course, he does have the advantage of having as a co-author, the accomplished comic book artist, Cameron Stewart.  The graphical storytelling in this comic book tells this story set in the world of Fight Club subtly and with a sense of mystery, in a way the slick and hyper 1999 Fight Club movie did not.

And yet, once again, cover artist, David Mack, leaves his mark on this comic book with another striking painting.  His work on this series encapsulates the narrative's secrets and lies, and fosters the idea that this story is older than we realize.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


No comments:

Post a Comment