WILD BULLETS #2 – Review

WILD BULLETS #2, from Source Point Press on January 10, 2022, spins a new collection of tall tales surrounding the eclectic Bullet family and their misadventures with aliens, dinosaurs, and gangsters.

The Details

• Written By: Greg Wright
• Art By: Sean Seal, Jason Jimenez, Stephen Sharar, Stan Yak
• Colors By: Bux Dhyne
• Letters By: Bux Dhyne
• Cover Art By: Stan Yak, Robert Nugent
• Cover Price: $2.99 (digital)
• Release Date: January 10, 2022

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Was It Good?

WILD BULLETS #2 works in some ways and not so much in others. This unique series chronicles the eclectic members of the Bullet family as they each have their own genre-specific tale to tell. It’s a unique way to tell tall tales in short story format, and it worked so well in issue #1 because each tale eventually works its way back to the core theme of a murder mystery.

Here, Wright employs the same method of each family member telling a tall tale but the tie back to a central theme doesn’t work as well. The approach (loosely) made sense in the first issue because each sibling or child’s tale connected to a clue in the murder. The tales didn’t have anything to do with each other but the investigation, which involved collecting clues, anchored the tales to a through-line.

In issue #2, a series of events surrounding a group of Christmas carolers serves as the anchor but it reads more like random convergences rather than a story all on its own. Technically, it works but it doesn’t have the same level of cleverness or complexity.

There’s the rub. The tall tales can get as wacky and outlandish as possible, but tying them back to a through-line story gives them an unexpected layer of meaning. Without the through-line story, the outlandishly tall tales just seem silly for no reason.

That said, the second trick used in the first issue and replicated here is the choice of using different art styles to reflect the genre of each tall tale. But it works well here, too. The boxer’s tale of gangster threats is sufficiently smoky and noir-ish. Momma Bullet’s tale of wild west adventure has all the sass and spirit of an old Western serial. It’s a clever approach to the art that provides enough distraction to help compensate for the lack of a central story.

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 find out why we were impressed with the first issue, check out our WILD BULLETS #1 review.

We begin with a trio of young Christmas carolers singing their hearts out in front of the Bullet residence. They narrowly avoid getting blasted by the tech genius, Archie Bullet, and are invited inside by the rest of the family for hot cocoa, chili, and tall tales.

Bill Bullet, the family patriarch, spins a yarn of his time in the war where he encountered shape-shifting aliens and resurrected dinosaurs in the jungle. Steve Bullet has his hands full when a local crime boss forces him to throw his boxing match or risk retribution against his family. Daisy Bullet, the family matriarch, recalls how she saved Christmas against gun-slinging desperadoes and a cult of demon worshipers in an abandoned mine.

As the issue concludes, we find each tale has a small nugget of truth that brings the family together for Christmas and explains why the Christmas carolers are not what they seem.

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