REVIEW: Ice Cream Man #2

Reading Ice Cream Man #2, written by W. Maxwell Prince with art by Martin Morazzo, you“ll develop a silent suspicion that this story is creepier than the sum of its panels. And it is. Even after this issue, readers still won“t quite know what Prince and Morazzo are ultimately up to, but it is undeniably intriguing to join them for the ride. The stories unfolding in this world have been tragic and cleverly interwoven with some pretty peculiar narrators and the strangest set of characters we“ve seen since the early days of Twin Peaks.

The second installment of this already popular monthly from Image Comics, will not disappoint fans of the debut issue or aficionados of the macabre world that Prince and Morazzo are beginning to build for their readers. Ice Cream Man appears to be an anthology, of sorts. The stories in issue #2 are not directly related to those in issue #1 but they take place in the same story world, the same town, in this case.

Anthologies are hard to pull off in print and in television. They may be even more of a challenge in the world of comics where the concept of continuity is king and the discourses generated by and through comics require debates about narrative cohesion and superhero through-lines.

And yet, Ice Cream Man doesn“t need these comic accouterments. It“s narration alone tries to subvert the genre of comics in some fairly skillful ways. The goals of these stories aren“t just to creep readers out ”“ although there is a fair amount of that in issue #2. The goal here is to expose the bilge of our world ”“ the dark underbelly of our society, including: the abandoned kids, quirky detectives, geriatric drug addicts, young ones too, and the ice cream man himself ”“ a catalyst from devil-knows-where who shows up at all of the opportune times with all of the stuff you need to make matters worse. Ice Cream Man #2 does this work of exposing the underside well ”“ with a smile and some creepy ice cream truck music playing softly in the background of your imagination.

Martin Morazzo has a visual knack for depicting Prince“s weird, horrifying and somehow fleeting world of small town Americans steeped in a fantasy gothic swirl of death, decay, and human destruction. The series may not end up being as dark (and maybe depressing for some) as issue #2 is, but it has certainly established its capacity to comfortably live, breath, and die in the darkest corners of this strange world. 4/5.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Story:Â W. Maxwell Prince
Art / Cover:Â Martin Morazzo,Â Chris O“Halloran
Variant Cover:Â Nimit Malavia