REVIEW: Survival Street #2

3.92/5.0 Stars
Rating if the Book Were a Movie: R

Creative Team:

Writer: James Asmus and Jim Festante
Artist: Abylay Kussainov
Colors: Ellie Wright
Letters: Taylor Esposito 
Cover: Abylay Kussainov with Ellie Wright
Editor: Daniel Chabon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics 

Ratings:

Story: 4.1 Stars
Artwork: 3.7 Stars
Cover Artwork: 3.9 Stars
Dialogue: 4.1 Stars
Mechanics: 3.8 Stars
Editing: 3.9 Stars 

About the Book:

Survival Street #2 is primarily focused on the happenings in Hollow Point, Texas. Hollow Point is controlled by the WRA (Weapons Retailers of America). In this city steel is the law. If there’s a dispute the parties can duel. The winner of the duel is recognized by the courts as the person that was correct. This goes for everything from arguments about property lines to which restaurant makes the best bacon cheeseburgers.

Birdie, Herbert, and the rest of the puppets are in this town trying to put a stop to some of the nonsense. Herbert has a vendetta. The citizens have a hatred for anyone that doesn’t look like them. This could get messy.

Reader’s Notes:

I love how Survival Street continues to not pull punches about our society and government. In the first issue we got a reminder that we have the best government money can buy. In this issue we see just how extreme a certain group of firearm enthusiasts truly is.

Full disclosure, I have no problem with firearms… Provided they are used in the manner they are intended for. If you want to go hunting for the meat I have no issue with that. If you’re going on safari in Africa to shoot a lion from a mile away with a high powered rifle so you can say you killed a lion that’s not hunting. That’s murder and you’re a coward.

There are those that cry about wanting a weapon to protect our nation from foreign and domestic threats. Where were you on January 6, 2021? A coup was attempted and nobody that wasn’t in uniform lifted a finger to stop it.

This book is filled with clever parodies. I got a chuckle out of the WRA and a certain actor that can be dirty and hairy. I also appreciated the nod to the Muppets and Sesame Street with the names of Herbert’s village and the island.

Herbert’s backstory is well done. It’s also sad. I have no doubt American corporations have done the same thing that happened in the village of M’na M’nam. This is art imitating life and showing how horrible people can be in the name of making a buck.

I like this cover. Herbert’s give a damn is clearly busted. It doesn’t matter how outgunned he is. He has a score to settle and he’s taking as many as he can with him.

The interior artwork is very well done. The facial expressions are spot on. I especially liked how we get the sun’s glare in the camera when Herbert is talking to DuParis.

As a geek on a budget I would say know yourself before diving into Survival Street. Depending on your political views, you may not appreciate having the ghost of America’s future giving you a glimpse of what’s to come. If you’re willing to look in the mirror and say things need to change, you’re in for a treat.