3 out of 5

Editor: Dave Elliott

I’m not sure what it is about A1 vol. 2 that doesn’t quite work.  It’s got a fine presentation through epic – handsome painted covers, very bright color production, good and sturdy page stock and yet flexible prestige packaging – but during book 3 the quality seems to drop for some reason, feeling rushed even though the series was always mapped out for three books.  Book 1 is as uneven as all of A1 (vol. 1 and 2… and we’ll see with the just starting 3), but such is the nature of anthology collections.  The glue is Dave Elliott’s decision to select a piece, so even if it doesn’t quite click – like Ilya’s ‘Fanciable Headcase,’ which just floats right outside the realm of finding a pace that works to make its ‘point’ – it feels like it belongs in the collection, and is interesting and rewarding to read.  Plus, centered around an awesome P. Craig Russell Cyrano adaptation, you’re anchored to a good vibe.  Book 2 takes a step up, with every piece unique in style and fun to read.  We start our second ongoing story for the collection – Milligan’s ‘King Leon,’ – and its a pretty rousing start in Pete’s cheeky and cheesy action vein, with light social crap sprinkled over it but whatever.

But Book 3 gets confusing.  The opening Axel Pressbutton tale sorta feels like the 2000 AD riff that it is and maybe relies too heavily on assuming we know this character from Warrior.  Erskine’s war tale of ‘Pale Horse’ is, I’m sorry to say, horrible paneled such that you don’t get shit about what’s going on.  There’s also an unfortunate page misprint that swaps two pages (again, indication of rushing… even though mistakes happen).  Most of the war stuff I’ve read comes from Ennis, and though his artists can flip flop regarding the clarity with which they detail things, Ennis’ (assumed) panel directions at least give you an idea of where the action is supposed to be, but in ‘Horse’ you have no clue, and the pacing doesn’t quite make you care enough to suss it out.  Milligan’s second portion of his story takes a nosedive in pacing as well, sacrificing the momentum of part one for stupid lovey stuff that Pete gets silly about and that just doesn’t fit with his core story.

And then book 4.  Centering around King Leon’s confusion might be the killer, since suddenly ten artists take over and Pete jams as much story as he can into about 1/2 the prestige.  Again, always allotted for four books, but what the fuck it seems like this story was supposed to take more time.  The ending is interesting, and makes you wonder how much more effective it could’ve been if nuanced a bit.  The rest of the book barely has room to shine, and I dislike Dave McKean and his appreciation, apparently, for jazz.

So maybe it’s those very 90s neon spines, or the equally 90s “save the wildlife” last pages in each book, but A1 vol. 2 just doesn’t feel as timeless or as focused in presentation as vol. 1.  It remains a worthwhile read on the whole, with the majority of the collection offering compelling work (though weighted towards book 1 and 2) and except for Leon part 3, it’s all fun to sift through and maintains the high level feeling of being overseen by one man, which has been a key to Atomeka publications in general.  Money might be better spent hunting down vol. 1, but don’t pass the opportunity to read these if given the chance, since there are definite gems collected within.