The New 52 Review: STATIC SHOCK #2

STATIC SHOCK #2
DC COMICS

WRITERS: Scott McDaniel and John Rozum
PENCILS: Scott McDaniel
INKS: Andy Owens
COLORS: Guy Major
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty
COVER: Chris Brunner with Rico Renzi
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Static/Virgil Ovid Hawkins is an African-American teen superhero who first appeared in comic books produced by Milestone Media. With the re-launch of DC Comics’ superhero line, “The New 52,” Static stars in a new comic book series entitled Static Shock.

As Static Shock #2 (“Disarmed”) opens, Static takes on a big-talking bad guy named Virule. The battle leaves Static grievously injured… or so he thinks, and suddenly, Virgil has to pay attention to the development his powers. As he navigates the halls of his new high school, P.S. M101 Dwayne G. McDuffie Center for Science and Mathematics (good name), Static discovers that he can get some clues about his other current adversaries, the Slate Gang. Meanwhile, the conspiracy in which he is a part grows with new players.

For readers to fully enjoy the new DC Comics Static Shock, they will need to be somewhat familiar with the Milestone Comics Static stories, but that is less so with this second issue than it was with the first. I must have missed something, because something screwed up is going on with Virgil’s sister, Sharon.

Anyway, everything about Static Shock has improved from issue 1 to issue 2. The action and fight scenes are brief, but are explosive and also effective for the story. Co-writer/penciller Scott McDaniel and co-writer John Rozum jump around a lot from scenes with just Static or just the villains to scenes at home and at school, but each one is necessary to the story and moves it forward by offering more tantalizing details. These scenes form one big structural backbone. This time, Static Shock is not just another superhero comic book; it is also an engaging mystery and drama.

The art by McDaniel and inker Andy Owens is also better. The composition is solid, even if this isn’t the prettiest art around. The graphic and page design are dynamic and certainly more lively than last time, which makes the storytelling less stiff and formal. Static Shock #2 gives me hope that I can, at least, expect good things from this series. After the first issue, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep reading.

B+