Penny Dreadful Volume 2 is full of suspense and intrigue. It opens up with Ethan, known as the Wolf of God, surprised to find Brona is alive. However, Brona tells him that she feels like she’s a new woman and wants to go by the name Lily from now on. Lily is now part of an organization called the Watchers. Lily, Mother Joan, and the other sisters in this group took an oath to protect humankind from the evil that is brought on by Satan and his demons. Lily and Ethan meet up with Mother Joan and other sisters in order to stop Satan and his followers. According to Lily, Satan’s brother Dracula is the one they need to find because he holds something that will save humanity. As the sky turns black and the moon turns red, will they be able to reach him before the end of days and save the human race?
Furthermore, we discover that Satan has possessed the body of Vanessa Ives in order to use it to become pregnant and give birth to the anti-Christ. Satan chooses to use Ethan to make this happen, and recruits one of his subjects to bring Ethan to him. Will Ethan be able to avoid being captured, and if not, will he be able to resist Vanessa Ives?
The characters are all well done, but my favorite is Catriona Hartdegen, as her bold personality steals the show on every page she is in. I love her highflier attitude and spunk. She also has the ability to see into the spirit world, as she sees her friend Sir Malcolm’s ghost. Another character I was partial to was Dorian Gray. He is a tortured soul who sold himself to the devil in exchange for living forever in youth and beauty. However, he has grown tired of being immortal and wishes to die like everyone else. His pain and suffering has taken its toll on him and the reader can’t help but feel pity on his soul.
The art by Jesús Hervás and the colors by Jason Wordie are absolutely stunning. The two of them work well together at creating rich riveting images. The graphic detail put into the fight scenes are my personal favorite, but the renderings in this volume are truly beautiful in its entirety. The writing by Chris King is also done well, and I appreciate the dark humor. Penny Dreadful Volume 2, based on the series created by John Logan of the same name, combines issues 5 through 8, and is available for purchase April 24, 2018.
-Amy Walker-Lofellette