Fearscape #2 Advance Review

Fearscape #2

Writer: Ryan O’Sullivan
Cover Artists: Andrea Mutti, Vladimir Popov
Illustrator: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: Vault Comics

Review by Anelise Farris

There are some comics you just can’t help but gush about, and for me the first issue of Fearscape was definitely one of those. We were introduced to the world Fearscape — which, as you might imagine, is a world inhabited by our fears. To ensure that those fears stay away from Earth, each year the Muse visits our planet in order to find a storyteller with mad skills who can keep the fears at bay. But what happens when the chosen storyteller turns out to be a fraud? 

Fearscape #2 begins to answer that very question as Henry Henry has his first adventure in Fearscape, encountering creatures both wonderful and terrifying. From The First Fear to No Legs to the elvish Siren, each character is more imaginative than the one before it. While Henry is certainly still the arrogant, puffed-up “person of letters” we met before, in this issue we begin to see some of that confidence fade as his vulnerability and self-doubt peak through a bit. 

The writing manages that perfect balance of poetic beauty and down-to-earth relatability. Opening with that oh-so-famous question, “How do I become a writer?” to bringing us face-to-face with BIG LITERATURE, I found myself smiling as much as I did in the first issue. Perhaps I’m biased as a “person of letters,” but Fearscape is wonderfully self-aware without being over-the-top or heavy handed. Like the writing, the art is flawless. There is a great energy in the linework — which is quite a feat since that often gets lost with the surrealism that we see here. The watercolor is breathtaking, and there is a terrific mix of light and dark.

Verdict: Buy it.

Based on my reviews, it’s probably pretty obvious that Fearscape is one of my favorite series at the moment. The creative team continues to deliver a seamless blend of literary commentary, otherworldly art, and a host of compelling fears.

Fearscape #2 will be in your local comic shops beginning Wednesday, October 31, 2019.