With a little bit of free time I decided to jump into the second volume of the Two-Face comic which I had started just the other day. I wrote a review on the first volume which mentioned being quite impressed by it, with a fun art style that resembled a more traditional comic style alongside a story that wasn't particularly interesting but did span over the complexities of the Two-Face character himself. My attention was caught quite early on, though I remained sceptical as to whether the second volume would be able to pick things up a bit more. I admit that the general legal action side of things wasn't all that engaging for me, a story that takes place within a court room isn't exactly bursting with detail and beauty, after all. I was hoping that with this second volume we'd see the story take itself into another direction, towards something a bit more interesting that added some world building and also development for the character. I didn't really know much about the character beforehand, so this has also been a bit more of an introduction to something featuring Two-Face outside of the limited screen time he has had when it comes to Hollywood productions. That first volume showed the ways in which Two-Face is controlled by two different personalities, one of which wants to be good and contribute to society, the other is a bit less caring for rules and wants to come out a bit more.
This volume started off a bit stronger with a flashback that showed Two-Face's more versatile behaviour. It doesn't shy away from the event that led to Two-Face's existence. The acid attack that led to half of his face being pretty much destroyed, and the inevitable birth of his darker side. It conflicts with his better side that does actually want to live a life by the law and avoid the criminal underworld outside of putting those who deserve it behind bars. One thing I didn't enjoy all that much was the return to the courts rather than throwing Two-Face into another location with a bit more world building to it. As far as that side of things goes here, it's the cases of people that find themselves in the eyes of the law. Other killers and the problems of everyday people. But mixed within this is some additional context on Harvey Dent, the good side of Two-Face that finds himself trapped within his own mind, constantly battling with a more evil force that's desperate to break free and take control, with no respect for others and the law. Constantly ready to face the world head-on. It showed his mind as a prison for his other personality, one that is riddled with Harvey's memories of bad and good. The people he's sent away, the childhood moments, all the little aspects of life. It also revealed the side of his other personality that is desperate to escape, always trying to think of a plan to do so. In a way, it reflects the breaking point of an ordinary person, how once all the right buttons are pressed, a person may crack and reveal another side of them that is completely different. An interesting idea.
I do think some of the art style decreased a little and become a bit more regular than I'd prefer. There are still the odd panels that have some vibrancy and oddities to them in the style as it portrays the two sides of the character, especially with the differences in dialogue. But many of the ordinary panels just felt a bit bland and void of variety and detail compared to the first volume. This one felt like it wanted to dive deeper into the Harvey Dent character and the complexities of his mind, but also wanted to follow up on the idea of the court and his work, but I just can't seem to find much interest in that side of things. It felt a bit too similar to the first volume in that regard too, rather than expanding upon things properly it felt a bit more stuck. It felt as if something was lacking in it, like it didn't know where exactly it wanted to go, and instead of choosing a direction it jumped constantly between Harvey's mind, a case, and the mixing of a villain introduction towards the end, all a bit underwhelming unfortunately. It is the sort of volume that could make or break a series this early on. Certainly giving me some questions as to whether I want to continue reading the future ones, somewhat expecting a bit more of the same thing and it growing stale. It's a bit disappointing given the first volume felt as if it had a lot of different things to explore but was just introducing itself and the complexities of the character, feeling messy because it could in fact relate to his life.
Supposedly this is the first comic that specifically focuses on the Two-Face character, and while it's nice to see a story that removes itself from the broader multiverse nonsense, it is lacking so far with the release of this second volume. There's certainly a lot of things that could go into a story that focuses on him, including deepening that context regarding his personal life and inner trauma. Perhaps the future volumes might start to explore that idea. I do admit it's a little bit early to tell, but as I mentioned before that immediate question as to whether I should maintain my attention on volume three or just place it elsewhere is already appearing. Stills some strengths here and there in the art style, it isn't all bland. But while fun and creative art in a comic is a plus for me, I do need a more engaging character and story. Court cases and the constant references to his other personality just won't cut it. I guess I'll see how things pan out.
A relatively weak volume after a strong initial one. Quite forgettable and doesn't really expand upon anything new. More or less the same stuff of Harvey having good intentions, and the other side being bad and wanting out. But we knew that already.