Comic Review: Unit 44 #2

Written by: Neil Davies, Special to CC2K

Unit 44 #2 manages to take the joke-a-minute style of the first issue and streamline it into an engaging story.

Author: Wes Locher
Illustrator: Eduardo Jimenez

This issue picks up immediately after the events of issue #1, wherein our protagonists Agent Gibson and Agent Hatch have been attempting to track down the contents of a secret storage unit, Unit 44. After discovering that the storage unit had been sold to a pair of yokels during a storage unit auction, Gibson and Hatch try to pinpoint the mysterious contents of the unit once more, only to have them slip through their hilariously bumbling hands again.

Wes Locher’s second issue in the world of Unit 44 starts off with Gibson and Hatch returning to Area 51 to break the bad news they found in the previous issue to their superior. Those familiar with the first issue can guess the hilarity that ensues in trying to explain their failures to such a severe man.

This second issue finds a bit more maturity and focus than its predecessor. The jokes seem to hit home a lot more because, frankly, there’s not a lot of room for the joke-a-minute style of the first issue, allowing Locher to be more selective with his humour.

Locher takes time in this issue to build the mystery regarding the contents of Unit 44, and to dive into the backstory of one of the comic’s primary characters, Agent Ballard. We learn that he’s been dealing with Area 51-style encounters his whole life and has almost been held hostage by his job. The audience is relatively introduced to an extraterrestrial villain. And while we only get a glimpse at what his motivations truly are, the audience is given lots of anticipation for subsequent issues.

Eduardo Jimenez’s art for this series is what helps maintain the tone from the first issue. The moderately cartoony style reminds the reader of the lighthearted nature of the book, while also providing the story room to be dynamic and full of action. Jimenez’s style can be summed up in one word: fun. His style brings the story to life and fills the reader with nostalgia for Saturday morning cartoons and fighting with your sibling for the Sunday newspaper comic section.

This comic fuses the fun extraterrestrial elements of the Men in Black films with the humour and wit of a daily comic strip. It continues to add more story and simplify the humor, making it funnier and more interesting the more you read. Locher also has a great skill for building the story, leaving the reader wanting for more, which in this writer’s opinion, is the true mark of a great storyteller.

[Editor’s Note: You can get your copy of Unit 44 #2, available now through ComiXology.]

4.0 out of 5.0