Comics: Fight Club 2 Issue #1

Lee gives us a brief review of the long awaited Fight Club 2 comic book.

The first issue of Fight Club 2 sets up the platform for the return of Project Mayhem. Trapped in the monotony of everyday life, the narrator, now going by the name of Sebastian, pops pills to keep his life in check and to keep Tyler Durden away. He drives a compact car and contributes to the boring society his alter ego waged war against in Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, and David Fincher’s film. 

For Fight Club fans, the comic picks up nearly a decade after the original story. Rest assured, the dark subject matter and trademark humor is in full force. A comic adaptation is new territory for Palahniuk, and the author enjoyed the liberties the medium offered. Said Palahniuk, “So you can depict things in a comic that you could not depict in a movie for fear of alienating your audience. Comics are kind of like the best of novels and the best of movies.” 

Fight Club 2 has a natural feel. Nothing about it seems forced for the sake of cashing in on a past success. During promotion, Palahniuk expressed his interest in the progression of the characters, and a comic adaptation offered a more experimental platform than film. Of all the progressions, the character Marla is perhaps the most fascinating. Now a wife of 9 years, she finds herself in a marriage that is different than the one that began. The reckless man she fell in love is gone, and she finds herself trapped and bored, craving the chaos of Tyler. 

For fans of the novel/film, the first installment of Palahnuik’s penned sequel, along with Cameron Stewart’s illustrations, is a welcome continuation that appropriately sets up the mayhem to follow. 

-Lee L. Lind

click images to enlarge page 1 and 2 of issue #1