NATURE’S LABYRINTH #2, from Mad Cave Studios on December 14th, 2022, continues a bizarre hunt to escape the maze designed to terrorize the worst dregs of society. Can the Shield survive long enough to find out Maze Masters and put an end to their ruthless game?
The Details
- Written by: Zac Thompson
- Art by: Bayleigh Underwood
- Colors by: Warnia Sahadewa
- Letters by: Rus Wooton
- Cover art by: Filya Bratukhin, Jason Wordie
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: December 14, 2022
Is It Good?
NATURE’S LABYRINTH #2 follows up the mildly bizarre first issue with a patently bizarre second issue. If you like the concept of The Most Dangerous Game riff with reality-bending traps, ruthless backstabbing, and painful deaths, you’re in for a treat. However, if you want the story to make sense, you’re in for a tough time.
It’s not exactly clear what Thompson is going for in this issue. Yes, the players are now fully in the game, and the stakes increase when the Maze Masters airdrop deadly weapons for the competitors to use. That part is easy to understand, but the rest of the pieces don’t quite fall into place.
What is the reason for the labyrinth in the first place? Is it a punishment? A preserve game for wealthy elitists? How are sections of the maze so impossibly big they stretch past the horizon (this is supposed to be an island)? How can the landscape beneath Shield’s feet warp and change? Is this a computer simulation? Are the competitors racing through a virtual world and don’t know it?
If you’re a regular reader of our reviews, you know that a story keeps a reader engaged by getting the reader to ask questions, but you want the reader asking good questions i.e. what’s going to happen next? Thompson is forcing the reader to ask too many bad questions rooted in confusion. When you can’t enjoy the scene because most of the events leading up to the scene don’t make sense, the writing is flawed.
That said, Thompson deserves credit where credit is due. The traps are imaginative, and the kills are brutal. The ideas in this comic are worth exploring, so if Thompson can correct the lack of clarity (not to be confused with mystery), there’s room to pull this series up.
On the positive side, Underwood and Sahadewa’s eye for surreal surroundings is captivating. The lush jungle setting is mesmerizing, and the dramatic visuals, interspersed with brutal deaths, are engaging. You may not fully understand what’s going on, but it’s interesting to look at.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our NATURE’s LABYRINTH #1 review to find out how Shield wound up in this mess.
We begin with Shield and Terror barely making their way to the first checkpoint. Shield and Terror join up with the other competitors when an announcement comes through about an airdrop package for each person. Each airdrop contains a weapon suited to the competitors’ personalities.
Some team members briefly talk about banding together when suddenly, the more psychotic members of the group unleash death with their newfound “toys.” Shield and Terror race off for cover and begin making their way to the second checkpoint. Along the way, they encounter toxic plants, changing landscapes, flame throwers, and hunters.
We conclude the issue with savage deaths and door number one.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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NATURE’S LABYRINTH #2 continues the bizarre fight for survival by getting more bizarre, surreal, and deadly. The maze traps are imaginative, the deaths are gruesome, and the plot turns are unexpected. That said, the surreal moments are overshadowed by a lack of clarity in the plot and a lack of motivation for the characters.
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