This book still has me after two issues. It became distinctly more The Road in this outing and looks like it may verge way more into post-apocalyptic Peter Pan & The Lost Boys territory based on what’s transpired thus far. I think the biggest danger right now is that it could drift into becoming just another post-apocalyptic book, which my reading diet has been pretty over-saturated with for the last couple of years.
There definitely weren’t as many surprises in this issue, as last month it appeared there would be a steady trickle of details that gradually expanded the environment and shed light on the event behind the story’s societal downfall. Jeff Lemire introduce a few more characters in #2, and his graphic storytelling (just look at that brilliant two-page spread) made the whole read enjoyable. The big problem is that there are so many standardized tropes and plot devices in this genre that its going to take some more innovation to get this series moving out on the water, but the seeds for that outgrowth definitely exist.
I loved the late page in here where the native boy Snout Spout character appears to be hugging him and there’s a real moment of hero/villain ambiguity that sets in before the ending. That said, it seems like we’re destined to see a native tribe of animal kids embrace Gus, and if things proceed on course, by issue #5 we’ll be seeing post-apocalyptic anthropomorphized Lost Boys fighting the world’s equivalent of pirates. And I’m not saying that’s bad, but I hope surprises await.
I don’t know what it is about post-apocalyptic books, but I LOVE the idea and like you said, they usually leave that aspect of the story for something else and I eventually lose interest. I’ve been reading this too and I’m really liking it so far.