Review: Spandex #2

The second issue of Martin Eden’s Spandex¹ is full of pink ninjas, devious leaders and…straight sex. Yes, he had me there.

Pink Ninjas!

Following the events at the end of issue 1, the (supposedly) all-queer superhero team is still reeling from the death of one of their owns. But this subplot isn’t followed, as they find themselves chasing a high-level Japanese thief back to his country, only to discover that things aren’t what they seem (are they ever?).
I was impressed by some of the page compositions Eden chose: the fight scenes are very effective, and the unexpected killing stroke at the end (I won’t tell you what happens) was very strong, displaying a mastery of the beats of comics storytelling. In fact, Eden’s art shows, if it still was necessary, that less is more. Even in the more populated panels, his art never feels cluttered. Some of the currently celebrated mainstream artists would do well to remember that, in my opinion.

The psychological side of the characters is obviously also well thought-out, with the team leader showing her tendency to manipulate everybody, and some of the team-members beginning to chafe against that. As for the straight sex, it’s also one of the well-built surprises that the author has for his readers, and I’ll let you discover who’s doing what.

This second issue of Spandex is proof that the enjoyment I’d had reading the first issue wasn’t one-off and that Martin Eden has enough material prepared to show his characters an interesting, if eventful, ride.