The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist: Volume 2

The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist #3-4

by Brian K. Vaughan, Michael Chabon, Kevin McCarthy

Following in the footsteps of the massively successful Volume One, the second volume of Michael Chabon Presents. . .The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist collects issues three and four of the likewise popular quarterly series.

Among the stories in this volume: Critically acclaimed writer Brian Vaughan (Y: The Last Man) pens "To Reign in Hell" in a classic 1940s spirit, richly illustrated by former Swamp Thing artist Roger Petersen. Marv Wolfman writes "Heil and Fear Well," a shocking and chilling tale of nefarious post-war Nazis in the infamous 1950s EC comics horror style, brought to life by veteran cartoonist Joe Staton and indie stalwart Bob Sikoryak. Also, the mysterious powers of Luna Moth may be up for grabs - is our favorite mild-mannered librarian worthy of them? Kevin McCarthy and Dean Haspiel serve up a tribute to Jack Kirby's 1960s Marvel work in "The Trial of Judy Dark ."

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Adventure, Anthologies

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2004

About the author

Brian K. Vaughan is the writer and co-creator of comic-book series including SAGA, PAPER GIRLS, Y THE LAST MAN, RUNAWAYS, and most recently, BARRIER, a digital comic with artist Marcos Martin about immigration, available from their pay-what-you-want site www.PanelSyndicate.com

BKV's work has been recognized at the Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, Shuster, Eagle, and British Fantasy Awards. He sometimes writes for film and television in Los Angeles, where he lives with his family and their dogs Hamburger and Milkshake.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag of short articles and comic book stories featuring The Escapist from Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay novel.
My three favorite parts were the first story by Wolfman and Staton “Heil and Fear Well”, a prose piece written by Roy Thomas and the last story by Vaughan and Petersen featuring Big Al, the Escapists friend and a cryptic offer he gets from an Iron Chain member named Link.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the series of comic collections based on the characters created by the protagonists in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, I think Volume 2 exceeds the quality of Volume 1.

Volume 2 continues the charade that The Escapist and co. were created during the Golden Age of comics, but whereas the first volume sought to tell the story of the what happened to a franchise of a formerly successful comic, Volume 2 lets the stories speak more for themselves.

In particular, I really liked "The Boy Who Would be The Escapist" by Kevin McCarthy and Scott Morse and "The Escapist 2966" by Stuart Moore and Steve Conley. The first is beautifully rendered with Morse's painterly backgrounds and a story that tugs on your heartstrings. The second is a psychological mindtwist with great coloring and a rather depressing ending. And of course I liked story of "The Trial of Judy Dark" as I like anything to do with the Luna Moth character, but art didn't really do it for me.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book of the collected Escapist adventures is certainly not as amazing as the first, lacking the energy, range and overall quality of the earlier volume.

I did enjoy the writing and art in ‘The Boy Who Would Be the Escapist’, ‘The Trial of Judy Dark’ and ‘To Reign in Hell’, and liked the article by Roy Thomas about the Fab Comics Group, but the rest of the stories didn’t grab me, even when their humorous contents raised a smile. I’ll hope for a better selection and presentation standard in the third book.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting that what I'm most drawn to are the stories not about the Escapist, but those around him, Big Al, Luna Moth, that adorable robot cat. Also the little insights into the history of the Escapist post prose is fascinating, as are the little advertisements and asides. Though I don't think IRL the Escapist would have the longevity it has had in the mind of Chabon. And that Escape-Not or whatever the heck he was was stupid.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another volume of meta-fiction featuring The Escapist and Luna Moth. These stories are fun, but none of them stood out to me as being really exceptional.
As with the last volume, I wish it had been printed in a larger size for easier reading.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good art and fun for Michael-Chabon-completists.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing Adventures of the Escapist collects a second set of whimsical tales featuring the metatextual hero. Created as the star of a fictional comic book in a prose novel, Michael Chabon helped bring the character to actual comic pages with his collaborations. The opening offering hearkens back to classic EC Comic tales, featuring a Nazi plot to resurrect Hitler that the Escapist must foil. The future version of the hero appears in the 2966 tale, battling a violent robot mastermind amid a never-ending cycle of capture and escape. A supposed pulp comic "find" features marginal edits to a simple Escapist story, while a young boy's discovery of a gold key helps him rise above the abuse he faces at home and school. The power and history of the Luna Moth are given a feature, as an alien warrior challenges the goddess Lo's appointment of a mousy human female as her avatar. The volume concludes with a look at Big Al, the Escapist's partner, who receives an offer to escape the Escapist. Utilizing classic storytelling tropes and styles, this volume provides a fantastic look at how the past can influence the future. One could easily see how the collector's market inspired the "lost story" tale, while the space-based Silver Age leaves its mark on the 2966 addition. Fans of old and new comics should get a kick out of Chabon's creation - do no let is slip past you!

[Emily Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume of The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist is just as metafictiony as the first, but not nearly as interesting. Since the character exists only in the descriptions of the pages of Michael Chabon’s The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay, and does not manage to quite escape from the page, to build a faux history around the character does not quite manage to engage the reader. The tales that stand out are “Heil and Fear” and “To Reign in Hell,” because both tell a story that plays with the identity of the Escapist, whereas the rest of the book simply plays with the identity of the Escapist without presenting a satisfying plot. Even with a real, known character, a satisfying tale is still necessary. Consider Frank Miller’s Batman: yes, he manipulated how the public thinks of Batman, but he also had story. Without story, comics are nothing.

Rule number one: before you go experimenting with what is accepted and acceptable, before you decide to manipulate with our perceptions of reality, make sure you have a story to go with it. Or you’ll end up with nothing but a handful of glitter, and no reason to throw it.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a meta-fiction collection of stories, inspired by the Michael Chabon (Author) novel The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay. I'm sure there's references and meaning I missed, having read neither the novel, nor the first volume of this series - I will most likely correct that gap in my experience.

Even without the background, I found the stories meaningful as well as entertaining. The writers and artists bring remarkable depth to the characters and their stories. Several of the stories ended with wordless final panels that exploded into my consciousness. I am very, very likely to read this again.

On a total squealing fan girl note: I seem to be developing a crush on Big Al, and I would not cry if I had a poster of the final page of his story.

[Antoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books definitely got better as they went on. "Heil and Farewell" in particular was both an entertainingly story and a convincing pastiche (to my none-too-knowledgeable eye) of the EC style it was meant to imitate. Likewise "To Reign in Hell" seemed like a story of the kind of caliber that the Escapist (in the novel) was supposed to represent.

[Xandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second installment of The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist is less impressive than the first, having a more limited range of artwork and lacking the humor and wit of the first volume. The two page long story of the Escape Not and The Trial of Judy Dark were my favorites, I didn't care too much about the rest.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second volume is benefited by longer stories. (Many in the first volume were a mere ten pages). It is also nice that the writers in this volume did not tie themselves to purposefully create a dated comic. Instead we have stories with deeper emotions and the occasional post-modern touch.

[Rick Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it....everyone is talented that has worked on this, it's clear. I just wish for ...more depth. Perhaps one or two artists/writers featured per issue, instead of ten! It's a sampler of good ideas, not a meal.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was much more compelling than the first collection of Kavalier and Clay companion comics. The writing goes off into much more creative, weird, and at times downright disturbing directions. A lot of fun.

[lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious.

[LT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably should have finished reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay before picking this up, but I liked the Luna Moth story and the one by Brian K. Vaughn.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love 'em.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, well-written book. Sometimes too much comic book detail for the non devotee...

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading for the first story alone, a reprint of a censored comic in which the Escapist fights Nazis.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tend not to be a follower of superheroes, but when the genre is satirized, I enjoy it more.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were even more awesome Luna Moth stories in this volume and there are still a lot of great informational sections but it just feels like they are

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first volume but still quite decent. Something to hold me over until Telegraph Ave. comes out, anyway.

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Better than volume 1, but still not quite what I'd hoped for. Not sure it's worth getting vol. 3. We'll see.

[Drew Perron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmmm. I feel like these ones were trying a bit too hard to Say Something About Comics.

[Donna Krebs]

It's an interesting look at comics that might have been. The different styles of the artistsis a pleasure to see.

[Adam Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. I don't know. It was all right.

[Henry]

pointless