CARRIERS #2, from Red 5 Comics on December 8th, 2021, introduces readers to a gang of pirate gulls intent on taking over New York’s trash barge business from the Croc King. But, is there a hidden agenda at work from the felonious gulls?
The Details
- Written By: Johnny Arnold
- Art By: Luis Rivera
- Colors By: Grupo Es Comic
- Letters By: Micah Myers
- Cover Art By: Luis Rivera, Fabian Cobos
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: December 8, 2021
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Was It Good?
What a difference a single issue makes! CARRIERS #2 continues the episodic adventures of a team of paramilitary carrier pigeons tasked with protecting New York City from criminal threats. The concept is novel, and we were entertained with the first issue, but the down point in the first issue was the creative team’s difficulty in integrating bird anatomy with their combat actions and their interactions with humans. Imagine a pigeon in mid-flight with a machine gun somehow tacked onto its hip and you get the idea.
In issue #2, it’s almost a completely different creative team from top to bottom. While the story is more traditional in terms of setting up an arc with action and the hints of a greater criminal conspiracy, complete with a shadowy mastermind, the flow is much better, the integration of the bird anatomy is world’s better, and the silly reliance on “tricking” humans into doing things is thankfully absent. How’s that for a run-on praise sentence?
For the writing, a criminal gang arrives to announce their claim on a portion of the local sanitation business with an over-the-top display of power. The whole spectacle looks and smells fishy, and the Carriers rightly pick up on it. It’s good to see these birds don’t have bird brains, and it helps to see how they coordinate themselves more clearly than in the first issue. You also get a better idea of their personalities to form the way they talk and the way they employ their skill sets.
Again, the gold star goes to the art team for massively improving on how the Carriers are depicted here as compared to issue #1. These are sentient, so to buy into the concepts, you have to suspend some disbelief with what you’re seeing. Here, you can believe how these animals exist and operate successfully in this world. The fantasy holds, and it makes for a much better visual experience.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Before you get too far, first read our CARRIERS #1 review to learn about NYC’s fowl line of defense.
We begin with a flock of (pirate) seagulls escorting a pair of trash barges into the city harbor. Their captain loudly announces they’re taking over the trash barge business, and they want the Croc King brought to them to make him submit to their demands. To prove the seriousness of their demands, the gull set one of the trash barges on fire.
Fable and the Carriers engage the gulls and order them to leave town. The pirate gulls, however, won’t take no for an answer. A pitched air battle begins Carriers against Pirate Gulls with swords. The battle becomes much worse when one of the Carriers sent down to rescue the barge’s imprisoned captain is loaded with explosives.
We conclude the issue with an explosive but unresolved ending to the battle, the revelation for the readers that a deeper plan was in play, and the introduction of a shadowy mastermind.
Final Thoughts
CARRIERS #2 improves by leaps and bounds over the first issue with a more believable story, in both art and writing, about a criminal conspiracy with high stakes, explosive battles, and seedy underworld crime figures. This is a proper beginning to an engaging arc that shows a lot of potential.
Score: 8.5/10
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