FICTIONAUTS #2, from Red 5 Comics on March 16th, 2022, unleashes a catastrophic series of robot attacks against Earth from an alien signal. When the Fictionauts respond, all is not as it seems.
The Details
- Written By: Mauro Mantella
- Art By: Leandro Rizzo
- Colors By: Leandro Rizzo
- Letters By: Leandro Rizzo
- Cover Art By: Alvaro Papagiani
- Cover Price: $3.95
- Release Date: March 16, 2022
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Was It Good?
FICTIONAUTS #2 reveals a grand conspiracy is in motion by two of the world’s worst villains. That’s the simple explanation, and unfortunately, the only explanation I can give.
To be blunt, I was completely lost for a large majority of this comic. At points, I had no idea what was going on. Avant-garde creativity has its place but done to excess, it’s easy to lose clarity. This issue lost clarity for me after page 8 because Mantella tries to incorporate so many meta ideas all at once, the story reads like a bizarre dream where flow and continuity from one page to the next are irrelevant.
This review isn’t meant to be harsh, but there should have been a point where an editor stepped in and said “How is a reader supposed to follow this? How is a reader supposed to understand what’s happening?” Again, Avant-Garde art that challenges your senses has its place, and maybe you love to have your senses challenged to the extreme. If so, this comic is the one for you. If not, this comic is going to be a struggle to get through.
The flow and sense of it all, but I can confirm this is a visually interesting issue. The character design is incredibly imaginative, the linework (especially the hatching) is exceptionally detailed, and the coloring is bold. Visually, there’s a lot to like about this comic, even if you can’t understand it.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
To remind yourself about who the Fictionauts are, first read our FICTIONAUTS #1 review.
We begin with two adolescents running through a field. The buy claims to have found burn marks in the field which we later presume are the equivalent of crop circles from a spaceship landing. As the two run towards the spot, they see a large flying saucer hovering over the field.
Later, Zool narrates a montage of the different Fiction deviations the team averted this week. You can recognize different snippets of classic books and films in each panel. After the montage, the Fictionauts zip around in their airship to combat a series of robot attacks across the globe. They discover the attacks are remote-controlled deviations sourced from the same flying saucer in the opening, now hovering in the Bermuda Triangle.
After this point stuff gets crazy. Weird, fever-dream crazy. If you’re interested to know more, pick up this issue to find out what happens next. A link to purchase is in the rating section below.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
FICTIONAUTS #2 is an incredibly imaginative fantasy story, but the imagination goes a little too far, and the story goes so meta that it was almost impossible to follow what was happening. That said, the art is bold and full of interesting details to capture your attention.
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