Brain Boy #2

By Fred Van Lente, R. B. Silva, Rob Lean, & Ariel Olivetti

Part of Dark Horse Comic’s burgeoning superhero line, Brain Boy started last month with a great first issue. Matt Price is a powerful psychic, telekinetic, and all around psi-master who was raised in a bio-research institute, while his “owners” rent him out to the US Secret Service. A great concept for a superhero book, Brain Boy #2 continues the excellent story in an action-packed blur of mystery and intrigue.

The story in this series could have easily felt bland or somehow typical, but the creative team brings a ton of life to Brain Boy, which just gets better in the second installment. Issue #2 was full of quick-paced action and conflict which made for a thrilling ride. However, there was a lot of great humor woven throughout the book. The protagonist is written with such perfect precision that the character makes the story that much more enjoyable. His dialogue is always informative while still feeling authentic. Furthermore, Price is just hilarious, and even manages to break the fourth wall a little bit in this issue. There are a lot of very clever elements that are subtle but provide an additional bit of enjoyment; the mysterious agent clad in silver has a suit that is impermeable to Price’s senses, while she goes by the codename “Faraday”. Classic. Although at times this latest issue felt overburdened with an excessive amount of narration, Fred Van Lente packed a whole lot of story into this installment, which probably necessitated the seemingly abundant dialogue. There were a ton of interesting new developments in Brain Boy #2 which added yet another layer of mystery to an already intriguing tale.

The team of R. B. Silva, Rob Lean, and Ariel Olivetti provides some magnificent artwork. Every panel is well-detailed with incredibly sharp images provided by Silva and Lean. The visual style feels vaguely reminiscent of anime at times, but still maintains its own unique twist. Many of the panels in issue #2 are full of interesting details, and there are some great full page images. The color work done by Olivetti was particularly awesome; every panel is wildly vibrant and full of bright, well-blended colors that bring the illustrations to life.

Brain Boy is a wonderful new series with a lot of story under its belt considering only two issues have been released so far. However, there is a lot to be interested in here. This book has action, mystery, the supernatural, humor, and fantastic visuals; the whole package.