Comic Review: Second Coming (AHOY Comics)

For those who didn’t see it coming, the arrival of Second Coming #1 from AHOY Comics is something to celebrate!

Originally scheduled to be published by another comic company, Second Coming arrives this week from AHOY, ready to entertain and challenge our preconceptions. Just how will we receive this satirical exploration of Christianity? What of this story of Jesus, the Son of God, returning to earth thousands of years after his death, to work with superheroes???

Second Coming, created by Mark Russell (story) and Richard Pace (artwork), is aided and assisted by Leonard Kirk on finishes and Andy Troy as colourist. Amanda Conner contributes the main cover, with Paul Mounts on colour.

Without delving too deeply into the plot line, let’s look at Second Coming. What message does it convey? Well, it’s arranged that Jesus meets Sunstar, a superhero. Sunstar has the superpowers of a God but feels impotent in trying to save human lives. He can’t save them all. Jesus, of course, looks for peaceful solutions to problems, and Sunstar looks at kicking bad guy butt and not taking names. It’s there, in the contrast of the two ‘superpowered’ individuals, that the conflict and the dramatic potential lies.

It’s a brilliant concept, and well executed. Despite the obvious sensitivities around examining and satirizing the tenets of Christianity, the underlying message of the book really is one of faith, hope, and charity. It’s lighthearted and heavy at the same time. Full of contrasts.

The dialogue is witty, irreverent (in the literal sense of the word too!), and well constructed. The artwork is carefully rendered. Richard Pace knows how to draw both earthly and heavenly bodies and brings the right universal touch to the panels. There is great drama in the sky and earth sequences, each illustrated in a different line style, which is intriguing. Likewise Andy Troy contributes a wide palette of colour to the project, varying from flat, easy to understand ‘superhero’ tones to earthy, somber browns.

There you have it; if your sensibilities will allow it, check out this fascinating proposal, the ultimate What If? Like the song by Joan Osborne: ‘What if God was one of us?’. Only it’s ‘What if the Son Of God returned to earth to work with a superhero?’

In addition to the story “Second Coming”, this issue also includes an illustrated prose piece, “The Closing Doors”, written by Stuart Moore, illustrated by Cayetano Valenzuela.

AHOY Comics, Second Coming #1 (of 6), $3.99 for 36 pages of content. Rating not provided, assume Mature