Exterminators, Volume 2: Insurgency Book

The story slows down a bit in the second volume, which is unfortunate, because I was enjoying the pacing. But Oliver is letting his mystey unfold, so he's allowed to be a little more brooding.

The art was a little sketchier, but still good. Moore reminds me of Steve Dillon, except that Moore can make characters who have different faces. The tone of 'The Exterminators' is likewise similar to Preacher, which Dillon drew, except Moore doesn't have Ennis' annoying obsession with manliness.

There were some odd moments in this volume, though. I mean, the whole series is strange and unpredictable, but I mean a more worrying oddness. There were a few instances where homosexual urges was linked with delusional sociopathic madness, which isn't a great sign, especially as it happened with two apparently unrelated characters.

It's great to present characters as having different urges, and homosexuality shouldn't be portrayed as purely 'good', as that would be just as problematic, but I don't appreciate it as a cheap way to make villains seem more alien and menacing.

So far, the antagonists have been, as a rule, pretty one-dimensional, which wasn't as noticeable in the first volume, since most of the menace was coming from nonhuman elements. Hopefully this lack of dynamic psychological depth won't become a factor in the series.

I also found the 'dark, mysterious guy who instantly attracts several women who want him' to be a bit cheaply dealt with. It's not that I don't appreciate love triangles, but they generally need more development. That being said, Oliver isn't being one-dimensional about it, he even lampshades is at one point, and amusingly.

It's my hope that when we get into the meat of the story, Oliver won't break his pacing and devolve into a simplistic adventure, because he's got a lot more going for him, and there's no rule that says you have to sacrifice depth for fun.