Echoes #2 Review

Written by: Joshua Hale Fialkov

Art by: Rahsan Ekedal

Published by: Minotaur Press/Top Cow

The first issue of Echoes was brilliant and I instantly felt that it could be one of the mini-series of the year (and yes I do know that it is only January). Luckily for my prediction, the second issue was even better. After the revelations about the grizzly past of Brian’s father in the first issue, issue two continues the battle for control between Brian and his schizophrenia.

Brian is trying to get his life back together but the echoes of his father’s past are haunting and taunting him. His father appears to Brian, trying to goad him into following the same path that he followed, pointing out the similarities between them, forcing Brian to stop outside a school while his father tells him to pick a victim. Later, one of the school girls that Brian looked at from his car goes missing and everything is cast into doubt. Has Brian done something terrible that he cannot even remember doing? Well, you’ll have to read the rest of the issues to find out, but it’s a great story so far.

The art is simply phenomenal. It may not be as flashy as the art in top superhero comics, but it shouldn’t be with a story like this, it’s has a murky quality that really works. There is one page which has Brian looking distraught while there are another sixteen panels in the background showing the dolls of his father’s victims. Then there is a panel where Brian is in the shower and his father’s face can be seen in the mirror, the water running down his body almost looks like tears. The other panel that caught my eye was where Brian’s face is reflected in the sunglasses of a cop in a great close up shot. Also, many of the panels are not uniformly arranged on the page, as they are in a lot of comics, and this seems to reflect the state of Brian’s mind. The dialogue also has its moments, when Brian gets angry he accidently says “not our friend” rather than “not my friend” and this simple and slight slip of the tongue shows the fragility and difficulty of Brian’s condition as well as anything else.

It should be fairly clear that I rate this comic and would recommend it to all; I’m anticipating the next issue more than any other comic at the moment.

10/10