Review - Freelancers #2

Ah, the life of a freelance assassin. It's not all running on rooftops and fighting Templars. There's the social side of it, as best evidenced in Freelancers #2 from BOOM! Studios.

The second issue is written by Eric Esquivel, with art by Joshua Covey, colors by Vladimir Popov and letters by Pat Brosseau.

Val and Cass are two angry assassins. Why is that? Kat, their former classmate who has sold out and is, in a word, a bitch. The duo track her down at a rather elaborate party she's hosting, replete with self-importance, money and people wearing fedoras with t-shirts. It's that kind of party. Regardless, Val and Cass are finding out why Lobo blew up the orphanage they hail from. Through a little detective work, they learn who Kat is really working for and the surprise is pretty real.

What's made Freelancers such a fun comic so far is Esquivel's script. He manages to poke fun at the trappings of society through the eyes of two who are less than rarified air. Val and Cass are very focused on their mission, but manage to find time to make wisecracks that often take the form of social commentary. They have a very superficial dialogue that embeds deeper evaluations within. Plus, some of their statements are just flat out amusing.

The downside to their frenetic wit is that the story itself seems to take something of a backseat. That is to say, you sort of lose sight of the story when reading their repartee. The story moves along so fast it's hard to keep up and it's likely the next issue will settle down a tad after the reveal that finished the second issue.

Covey's art is strong for the book. It showcases Val and Cass as two women who aren't to be trifled with. There's a lot of fighting that goes on and Covey handles illustrating the choreography well. What's more is that he does some interesting thing with the panel layouts. All the panels seem large and sort of pop off the page, making sure the reader doesn't miss any of the action.

Freelancers #2 is a fun comic with two fiercely independent leading ladies. The witty back and forth is probably what carries the book the most. The premise behind the series is also pretty interesting, even if the story could use a bit more definition.

Freelancers #2 is available now.