I enjoyed the first book in this series, and had been looking forward to reading the follow -up. Matthew Rosenberg(writer) continues to flesh out the characters at a steady enough pace to move the story along, while giving the readers a chance to see a side of the Kingpin that we may not have seen yet. We know he had a strong emotional attachment to his wife Vanessa, but we may not have seen his sense of almost “Robin Hood’ like charity to those less fortunate, and his connection to them. We all have a wounded child inside of us…..even the Kingpin.

We’re reminded that even though the Kingpin may want to present himself in a different light , many vestiges of his past may not want the world to forget exactly who he is. They come in 3 forms in this 2 nd chapter. The underworld around him, the politics around him and the hook for the next issue. This hook comes in the form of an appearance I was hoping would be held off for a few more issues. I suspect this may have been a corporate decision to go in this direction so soon and I was looking forward to this book having a more “solo” feel to it for just a bit longer.

One of the main characters of this book “Sarah” is showing more depth in 2 issues then some other Marvel characters have been receiving in 10 issues thanks to Rosenberg’s attention to character building.It seems she’ll be playing a lead role for quite some time, so the fact she is being fleshed out so well is good building on Rosenberg’s part.

Ben Torres art once again helped convey a well written story .Subtle changes in facial expressions from panel to panel can say so much. Especially where more complex emotions have to be conveyed instead of, for example, just a simple toned battle scene. When you can feel emotions changing panel to panel that to me is a sign of good work.

I noticed Colorist Johnathan Boyd used more Black and whites and fleshier tones when colouring the panels this time. Gave it kind of “Sin City” vibe to it which matched the story subject and surrounding subplots.

If there was one small critique of the book I could find it would have been the use of the “Underworld” figures that they did use, and in the context that they used them. Would have liked to have seen that confrontation on a more private level.

Still, a very good outing and I’m enjoying the series very much so far. Looking forward to the next issue.

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg

Artist: Ben Torres

Color Artist: Johnathan Boyd

Letterer: Travis Lanham