"Heavenly Blues #2" Comic Review

Now that Isaiah and Erin have committed to stealing a treasure from an Archangel in Heaven, they've got to get a gang together to get the job done. This entails trips to the various sections of Hell, each taken from a different era of history, such as the Wild West or Ancient Egypt. They have to do all this while a warrant is out for them.

This chapter of Heavenly Blues also features a chunk of Erin's backstory. The first issue goes into how Isaiah ended up in Hell, so it's only fair that Erin gets the same treatment. Her tale is more tortured than her colleague's is. Erin was a teenage girl in Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials. She saw the corruption at hand and used her skills as a thief to try and put one over on the judge sentencing these women to death. It's a noble task that doesn't go her way.

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Fast forward to the present day where Erin is stuck as a teenage girl with Puritan attire in Hell. She's had a few hundred years to brood about the injustice she suffered, so it's no surprise that she jumps at the opportunity to get into Heaven by stealing this treasure. This is her chance to right the wrong that was done to her.

There's a nice contrast between these flashback scenes and the ones in Hell, particularly with the colors. The pages in Salem are almost sterile in their stark whites and cool blues. It's like the sky is always overcast. Meanwhile, the scenes in Hell look like a perpetual sunset with gorgeous color. It's not what you'd typically expect from the underworld. There is no fire and brimstone (that we can see anyway).

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Artist Bruno Hidalgo shows a talent for action scenes with this issue. As Isaiah and Erin gather up the rest of their gang, they inevitably run into violence. Hidalgo orchestrates these sequences with excitement. His panels look as if they're moving. You can feel each blow as it lands with intensity.

Even with these fight scenes, the pace slows down a bit with this issue of Heavenly Blues. It's largely setup as the characters are moved into place to prepare for the heist. The additional players are very intriguing and it will be cool to see how they all interact with one another. I'm just anxious for them to get to the action and see how they'll bust down Heaven's door. They're beginning to resemble a powder keg.