Review - Dragonstorm #2

"Get ready. We still have trouble coming."

Unstoppable Comics is throwing a lot in front of its characters, presenting them as perhaps even unstoppable themselves. Dragonstorm is one such character in the self-titled book Dragonstorm #2 from Unstoppable Comics. The issue is written and lettered by Jaydee Rosario, illustrated by Craig Shephard and colored by Michael Summers.

After escaping a deadly trap full of ninjas, Dragonstorm and Lyllian continue their escape in the night to safety. Before the night is over secrets will be revealed and Lyllian’s lessons will begin, starting with finding out where the dragon magic comes from. Lyllian is still attempting to reconcile the sudden infatuation floods of ninjas have with her, forcing her to spend more time with Dragonstorm to learn even more about her storied past.

Rosario continues to delve deeper into Lyllian's strange place in history. There's also a lot of ninjas and Dragonstorm is keen on exploiting her abilities in an effort to save her life. She's a little reluctant to accept her fate, but Rosario insists that she train in order to fully unlock her potential. The story itself isn't exactly treading new ground, but there is a healthy amount of ninjas that keep things interesting. The issue follows Dragonstorm and Lyllian as they're on the run, peppering in some of where Dragonstorm's abilities come from as Lyllian is shocked at the present situation. It's a little clunky in terms of its presentation and there are a few typos here and there that hurt the overall flow of the book.

Shephard's art is actually pretty solid. Panel layouts are staggered and varied, keeping things in a seemingly amorphous fashion. Characters are illustrated with fairly simple anatomy and the combat sequences are handled with aplomb. There's a lot of action in the book and the kinetic energy of the characters is displayed very well for the reader to fully take in the action occurring in the book. There's little attention paid to backgrounds and setting, with Shephard instead relying to let the characters carry the story.

Dragonstorm #2 gives the reader more insight into the relationship between Dragonstorm and Lyllian. It's a lot more complicated than it appears on the surface and Lyllian has a lot of potential she can tap into once she actually starts listening to Dragonstorm. It's a pretty classic mentor/reluctant mentee stories, but Dragonstorm is more than capable of handling his own against the waves of ninjas. Business is definitely starting to pick up, and readers interested in action-packed books with checkered pasts might want to check out Dragonstorm #2.

Dragonstorm #2 is available now via the Unstoppable Comics website.