Posted in: Comics, Review | Tagged: AfterShock Comics, Christopher Sebela, cold war, Hayden Sherman, sci-fi

Cold War #2 Review: A Better Lead Character, but an Aimless Plot

The platoon appears doomed without their original leader. However, Vinh has taken up the mantle of leader, even if it bothers John. Thankfully, Vinh is just as, if not more, competent than Rook ever could be. The rest follow her, but the bloodshed is far from over.

We also get a look back at Vinh's life, and she may be just as frightening as the world around our group of survivors.

Vinh is easily a far more compelling protagonist than Rook. She's got more depth, layers, and her backstory is actually compelling and more than "I like to kill people." John plays a decent foil to her. He's more cautious, averse to violence, and doesn't cuss like a sailor. However, those qualities probably have a shelf life in this world.

With Vinh in the spotlight, the new primary issue with Cold War becomes an aimless plot With Rook, there was this sense of direction; he was leading the team from Point A to Point B. Vinh has an ulterior motive, but it's not one she knows is possible at this point. As such, she and the team are just meandering through the ruins of whatever world this is.

We get some hints as to what caused all of this, but even that doesn't give the plot much forward motion. It'll still be a while before we get enough puzzle pieces to even make guesses at the cause of Cold War.

Hayden Sherman's art is still stylistically appealing, but it still obfuscates panels to the point where the events depicted aren't always clear. It really is a fitting style for Cold War, but it still confuses more than it should. There is a decent unified aesthetic for all the sci-fi elements, though, and the color art is aptly dirty and grimy.

Cold War #2 takes a step forward in character but a step back in plot. Essentially, it's in a similar place that Cold War #1 was in terms of overall quality. As such, I'm still intrigued enough by to recommend it with some confidence, but it does need to decide where it's going soon. In any case, feel free to give it a try.

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