Comic Book Review: Fearless Dawn #2

Written and Illustrated by: Steve Mannion
Colors: Frank Forte and Steve Mannion
Publisher: Asylum Press
Cover Price: $2.95

I had meant to pick up Fearless Dawn #1, but there was some mix up at Ye' Ol' Comic Shop and I never got it, but they got me Fearless Dawn #2. First thing that makes this a good purchase is the cover...We know Nazis are the best villains and are to be hated, but scantily clad Nazi vixens are comic staples which can't be ignored, right up there with gorillas and jungle women in leopard bikinis.

So I'm not going to claim I understand everything that is going on. Our alluring Nazi villainess is Helga and she's trapped Fearless Dawn and Number 7 in her dungeon, so they take some drug which turns them into monsters so that they can escape. In many respects, Fearless Dawn feels like a golden age book with the plot being focused on the simple pummeling of Nazis. Helga and the monstrous General remind me of the old Whiz Comics with Captain Marvel fighting inept villains in a campy, slapstick style. Add in the cheesecake shots of Fearless Dawn, Helga, and Agent Betty, with visable garters even, and you have a fun throwback to simpler comic days. Let's face it, not everything has to be melodramatic mega-events. After reading a stack of Bendis, Ellis, and Millar, a lighthearted, straightforward slugfest is a nice respite. Which, if that sounded like a backhanded compliment, it shouldn't. It should be taken as a straghtforward compliment.

I'm glad Ye' Ol' Comic Shop got me Fearless Dawn #2 because I wouldn't have known about this fun book with nice art from Mannion. Naturally with a cheesecake focused title such as Fearless Dawn, the art has to be able to carry the allure, and sure enough, Mannion pulls it off. I mean check out Agent Betty!