Gotham City Sirens #2 is written by Leah Williams and published by DC. Artwork is by Daniel Hillyard, colours by Triona Farrell and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Main cover art (left) is by Terry and Rachel Dodson.
Gotham City Sirens #2 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
When a violent and highly illegal energy drink-sponsored hunting operation threatens the lives of wildlife and the residents of Gotham City alike, the only ones fit to save the day are the criminal trio of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Back together again for the first time in years. Sometimes the only way to fight bad is with even worse! With special appearances by White Rabbit, Punchline, and introducing the himbo cowboy henchmen sensation soon to be sweeping the nation known as “The Nasty Boys!” Get your chaps, spurs, and hats out cause it’s hunting season! By the end of story you’ll be covered in guts, goo, and grit! Featuring the talents of Leah Williams, Matteo Lolli, Daniel Hillyard, and more! If you’re not chanting “Hot tubs and headshots and hotties, oh my!” by the end of this four-week-long series, you’re doing it wrong!
Review
DC continues to explore its Orville Peck-fetish with the second issue of the four-issue/four-week Gotham City Sirens series, wasting no time in driving the narrative forwards at speed. With little time to for proof of concept, Williams and artist Daniel Hillyard impressively keep all their plates spinning for the second consecutive week.
Picking up right where we left off in issue #1, Gotham City Sirens #2 finds the group fully reunited and working on a plan to rescue White Rabbit. Given the four-issue arc Williams was quick to pull together the three seemingly disparate plot points picked up individually by Harley, Catwoman and Ivy. The series benefits from not playing out as a lengthy mystery. Having the villain revealed and using the second issue to reveal more of their plans gives a narrative thrust which is definitely fitting of a short-burst series like this.
Zooming out for a moment to look at the bigger picture it’s clear issue #1 is bringing the team together and issue #2 is them enacting (and failing) in their plan to take down Punchline. The issue neatly spends the first half pulling together that plan before seeing them taking on the Nasty Boys aka the himbo cowboys which have instantly become a prominent feature of the series. Williams has been able to take in to a level of narrative complexity which makes Gotham City Sirens easily accessible, particularly for the format it’s being released in. It doesn’t feel like a monthly book, likewise it doesn’t feel like a one-shot broken in to four chapters.
Williams has each of the Sirens falling to a role within the team. Just like old times Harley brings the madcap schemes, Catwoman the muscle and Ivy the scientific mind. There’s no attempt to reinvent the wheel, only to take it on a victory lap with this brand new story. The ease by which these characters slot together is no small part in bringing this incarnation of the series to life so quickly. The resolve to keep their characters intact, finding a story which fits their personalities rather than bending them to fit the narrative is the other reason for its success.
Daniel Hillyard takes the baton on artwork for issue #2, working with colourist Triona Farrell to continue the look established in issue #1. Hillyard has a different approach to character design, more angular than Lolli which sets the two artists apart. Whilst there are no radical visual differences between the two issues thanks to Farrell’s brilliant colouring, it’s still a great advocate for both artists work.
Verdict
Gotham City Sirens #2 continues to trundle along nicely, proving that there’s mileage in these short-burst limited series.
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