Pretty Deadly Volume 2: The Bear by Kelly Sue DeConnick, art by Emma Rios

Image Comics, 2016

ISBN-13: 9781632156945

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

Pretty Deadly Volume 2: The Bear moves the first volume’s timeline ahead to World War I. Sarah Fields lays dying, and her children want nothing more than their brother, Cyrus, to arrive in time to say goodbye. They approach Fox, formerly a blind man traveling with young Sissy, now a dapper sighted reaper, to give their mother until the next full moon to take her. He takes this to Sissy, who agrees. Sissy herself has changed, as she has taken on the mantle of Death, and appears as a blend of human and shrouded vulture. The problem is that Cyrus, now a young man, is fighting in the war in the trenches of France, where the Reapers of Vengeance and Cruelty run rampant. Deathface Ginny and Big Alice ride together for similar purposes.

Things have changed for everyone.

The second volume is easier to follow than the first, but just as strong. (See my Monster Librarian review for Pretty Deadly Volume 1: The Shrike here.) DeConnick used a more linear storytelling method for this installment. However, she did not lose any of her philosophical integrity in addressing very human questions regarding war. There is a deeper meaning here.

The artwork by Rios is incredible. It is easy to get lost in panels that have so much energy to them, but deliciously so. Scenes on the battlefield are intense, between the movement and Jordie Bellaire’s color palette. The updated character design for Sissy as Death is beautiful, and Fox as a reaper cleans up nicely, as the saying goes. Seeing more of Deathface Ginny and Big Alice was fantastic. Highly recommended.

Pretty Deadly Volume 2: The Bear collects issues 6-10.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker