The Autumnlands: Tooth & Claw #2

by Kurt Busiek, Benjamin Dewey & Jordie Bellaire

After having such an impactful debut, Tooth & Claw returns with its second issue this week. With the magic of their world dissipating, a group of wizards combine their skills to perform a powerful summoning spell. After sacrificing their floating city in order to bring back the Great Champion, the surviving mages must now decide what to do next.

Tooth & Claw isn’t Kurt Busiek’s first foray into writing a fantasy comic, having previously dabbled with stories like A Wizard’s Tale and Arrowsmith. However, Tooth & Claw has a different feeling. There is a vastness in the way that Busiek writes Tooth & Claw that makes this world feel genuine. It’s similar with how he writes Astro City, he throws the reader right into the story without leaving them feeling overwhelmed or lost. This issue of Tooth & Claw picks up the pace and by the last page hooks you into wanting more.

NEWS: Tooth & Claw #1 gets a second printing, and the series is forced to changed it’s name.

There are so many stunning looking comics out on the stands these days. With so much amazing competition it’s very hard to stand out of the crowd.  However, the art team on Tooth & Claw grab your attention with their stunning visuals. The way Benjamin Dewey handles the character design for all the anthropomorphic people who inhabit Tooth & Claw, is nothing short of immaculate. Every character looks exactly like the animal they represent and not just an animal head on a humanoid body. They really just look like human-sized animals wearing clothes. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt having one of the best colorists in comics handling the colors in Tooth & Claw. Jordie Bellaire uses a palette that both amplifies the magic in the story with bright vibrant colors, but also employs a grounded approach that brings a realism to Tooth & Claw‘s world.

Anyone who may have had mixed feelings after reading the first issue of Tooth & Claw should really try this one. Everything feels tighter and reads more smoothly from front to back. Busiek shows his experience at being able to submerge readers into his stories, making Tooth & Claw easy for average readers to enjoy. By the conclusion of this issue, readers are left to wonder what happens next. Things have been set up pretty well in Tooth & Claw and it’ll be interesting to see where the story will go from here.