Ice Cream Man #2
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martín Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Review by Anelise Farris
Ice Cream Man #2 involves two different couples: a pair of young drug addicts and an elderly husband and his wife. Concerning the former, Jim is severely sick, and his wife/girlfriend is desperate to both help Jim and find her next fix. Through a series of flashbacks, we witness their gradual descent into drug addiction, and the long series of bad (really bad) choices they make to get drugs. In a similar manner, in the latter couple, Phil is complaining of all his ailments and poor health, and Alice is trying to make his life as peaceable as possible.
For all characters involved, life is pretty bleak, which if you read issue #1, this is exactly what you should expect from this series. As Ice Cream Man #2 winds down, the different characters collide (quite literally). And this is where our resident Ice Cream Man makes his appearance, with something more sinister than an ice-cream cone to offer.
Maxwell Prince’s writing is hauntingly poetic, with lines that—no matter how sad they are—invite you to linger on them. The italicized lettering in the neat, white boxes does a nice job of narrating the story. There is a gritty, dark shadow over the panels in which the drug addicts are involved, and Ice Cream Man #2 wisely illustrates drug addiction as anything but pretty. And, although the panels with the elderly couple are brighter, there is still an uneasy, not-quite-right feel to the linework. Overall, the writing, lettering, and art come together to show that you don’t need all the gory bells and whistles to tell an eerie, dark story.
Verdict: Buy it.
In a stellar second issue, Ice Cream Man #2 continues to be both beautiful and disturbing (which, the best horror is in my opinion).
