ENDEAVOUR #2 (DSTLRY )
Life has a way of taking someone on a very different voyage.
Wealthy passengers board a recreation of The Endeavour voyage. What should have been a memorable trip through history has turned deadly. Seven children are all that’s left after a mysterious virus is discovered. Alone on the high seas, they have been steered into a dangerous path. Their voyage is no longer about memoires. It is now about survival.
ENDEAVOUR #2 by Stephanie Phillips, Marc Laming, Lee Loughridge and Tom Napolitano continues its terrifying thriller with an all new chapter.
Let’s take a deeper dive into what is unfolding now.
ENDEAVOUR #2 by Stephanie Phillips, Marc Laming, Lee Loughridge and Tom Napolitano (DSTLRY)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
Phillips wastes no time in throwing the young survivors in the deep end for this chapter. After a character recap page (I’m a HUGE fan of this in comics). readers get a closer look at two of the survivors and families. This allows a deeper connection into what they are now involved with. Once the story jumps back to the present, it is met with an impossible task. Seeing how these kids are adapting to lone survival is quite the challenge. The writing shows how they cope with varying methods. Carson is really not helping matters while slowly planting the conflict with Roy. This leads to a more intense talk with Roy and Via. As heavy as this moment is, it doesn’t compare to dealing with an immediate danger.
Readers watch as they try to handle the pressure of making an an extremely difficult choice. The decision about what to do with the deceased bodies is one with tremendous weight. This causes a conflict between survivors. The small flashback to the original voyage teases much of the threat in the present day.
Being tasked to deal with this matter starts to slowly unravel the group. The writing begins to pit some against each other, fueling more problems. The danger connects due to its’ psychological nature. Fighting over who kills a bird for food turns into much more. This boils over into physical confrontation. It is a natural response for the youthful crew. What isn’t is the shocking closing sequence. The mental breakdown of events begins to crackdown on one passenger. This builds up to a shocking final page. It is a showstopper on an already magnificent voyage into horror.
READ LAST ISSUE’S REVIEW HERE!
Laming and Loughridge open with a flashback to happier times with Nikeel and Emily. The coloring of these pages mirror the lighter portion of time. It doesn’t take long before the grim circumstances to start taking hold. Readers watch as the children scramble to find anything to eat or drink. Their innocence fades away fast due to one’s persistence to bully all around them. Readers can see the wear of the situation on the young faces. This especially effects Roy. His conversation with Via is bursting with pent-up feelings. It leads to a mroe shocking discovery. The art presents this moment in a full page. Very worthy for the impact it causes.
The struggle of what to do with the dead comes into focus. Each cast member carries the same shock and doubt in their expressions. Carson takes the helm with more angst in his responses. This quickly fades when the ship hits rough waters. Readers watch his panic kick in as someone crawls toward him. This pivots into a brief flashback. This era stands out for the uncommon methods in practice by this crew. Once the moment returns to present time, the calm nature of the group starts peeling away.
This comes to a head when hunting a bird spirals into conflict. The art does an incredible job of spinning the egos into a explosive encounter. Watching Carson put in his place by Roy is a deeper moment than some may think. It also shows how the remaining shipmates are slipping further away. This comes into complete light with the closing pages. One member’s reactions to the moment head into a dark direction. It comes to a stop at the final page. A full page image sends chills away with the readers as the innocence of youth is fading fast.
FINAL GRADE: 9.5
The young castaways is forced to grow up fast as the terror turns inward as they fight to survive. Phillips pens a chapter driven on difficult choices on top of survival struggles. Laming and Loughridge showcase the wide range of emotions involved as youthful innocence sinks to the bottom of dark times. A fantastic voyage into the thrilling landscape of ultimate survival.
Let me know your thoughts on ENDEAVOUR #2 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
