Last month the “Luke Cage” team of David Walker and Sanford Greene premiered a brand new series in the form of “Bitter Root” alongside writer Chuck Brown. The debut sported the same dark tone and off-brand humor that the best “Luke Cage” issues were known for. Getting the change to see Walker, Brown and Greene build a world from the ground-up is exhilarating and a stark difference from how the duo attempted to retrofit their sensibilities onto an existing Marvel property. It also didn’t hurt that the debut had looks to kill with amazing colors from artist Rico Renzi. Can the title avoid a sophomore slump in the follow-up issue and deliver an entry as satisfying as the debut?
Written by David F. Walker and Chuck Brown
Illustrated by Sanford Greene
Colored by Rico Renzi
Lettered by Clayton CowlesAn evil force stalks the streets of Harlem as Berg and Cullen face off against a deadly creature that may be more than they can handle. Meanwhile, in Mississippi, a mysterious stranger unleashes furious retribution in the name of justice. BITTER ROOT Cover As by SANFORD GREENE will be connecting through the first story arc.
Despite having a fairly simple premise of a family destined to fight monsters, “Bitter Root” has more ambition and a larger cast than readers might think. The new installment takes place in different states and features a couple different protagonists. The title is still easy-to-follow and carries an even stronger set of tension and stakes than the first issue had. “Bitter Root” #2 even explores political issues, carrying some chilling and meditative thoughts on racial violence in the 1920’s. The title also carries a steampunk aesthetic. Despite all these genre elements mashing together, “Bitter Root” #2 is frantic and fun instead of being chaotic and overstuffed.
“Bitter Root” is not a subtle story as the last issue ended with a group of Ku Klux Klan members attempting to murder one of the core heroes of the story. Including such a controversial scene and having so much of the story in this installment revolve specifically around racism is a really bold direction. Walker and Brown even take the plot thread in directions readers will likely not expect from reading the description of the scene itself. Despite the act being one of the most horrible acts of cruelty a person could commit, Walker and Brown explore the levity from the fallout and build a fascinating relationship that I hope will be explored deeper in future installments. On top of having a fascinating cliffhanger sequence, “Bitter Root” #2’s ending has another statement on the political nature of the title. I hope this final plot beat will be expanded upon in the same way last issue’s final sequence was in this installment.
Greene’s art is one of the best aspects of the issue. In each and every scene and panel of the issue, it is clear to see how expressive his characters are. In comics, there is a risk that with expressive art, readers can lose out on fundamentals of drawing and page composition. Greene’s art doesn’t have to make such a compromise, still featuring really epic framing and bold expressions. With each expression looking so vibrant, readers can get lost in the story easily as you can picture the expressions and movement happening between the panels. Getting a chance to see Greene define a world that doesn’t have to fit inside of The Big Two is a huge draw to the series as well.
With this chapter having a greater sense of conflict in the Mississippi scenes, Greene does a great job capitalizing on the tension. His figures dart foreboding looks at each other and acknowledge the environment in a manner that keeps the tension really high. The tremendous art makes the script look even better and more concise than it would read from a different artist.
Renzi and Greene’s colors stuck with me long after closing the issue. “Bitter Root”‘s colorful hues of green and purple give the title an extremely distinctive aesthetic. The story is also a period piece. When the script changes from each location, it is noticeable to see how much different the woods of Southern Mississippi look from the urban streets of Harlem. Letterer Clayton Cowles is more expressive here using a different font than some readers are used to which serves the overall tone and direction of the story very well. The full creative team in the series feels like they are contributing everything they can to make the title as good as it can possibly be.
With the incredible art and well-realized world, “Bitter Root” #2 is a great follow-up issue. Now that more plot and details about mysterious Jinoo creatures have been revealed, it is easier to have a stronger connection to the plotting and characters. I hope in the issues to come, the creative team will continue to keep the frantic pace and explore the full Sangerye family. On top of the phenomenal content in the issue, the story is loaded with interesting backmatter and essays. “Bitter Root”‘s incredibly high production value and content is impressive.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “Bitter Root” #2 expertly follows-up on the cliffhanger from the debut to widen the scope of the story.
