The second installment of Genevieve Valentine, Annie Wu, and Lee Loughridge’s Two Graves continues Death and Emilia’s road trip with stop in Vegas and a couple ghost towns along the way. There’s also fight scenes, potential mob connections, and a powerful last sequence that kept me hooked on the story just as I was beginning to check out. However, Two Graves continues to be a tough comic for me to get into despite some of my favorite comics creators’ presence on the title. “Road trip with death” is an all time great elevator pitch, but this issue is mostly centered around running away from generic cultists that are maybe connected to the Persephone flashback from the first issue, which recasts the often damseled figure from Greek mythology into a ruthless, insatiable conqueror. Also, St. George and the Dragon as revealed in a flame-tinged flashback from Wu and Loughridge.

The premise of the series, which is Emilia taking her mother’s ashes to the Atlantic Ocean, falls apart in Two Graves #2 as she and Death end up dilly-dallying in the scenic West. This is a long-form series so I don’t expect her to be in the Eastern Time Zone by issue two, but their travel route seems more aimless in this installment before ramping up when May, Decima, and Indigo show up. Even the interlude in Vegas is too brief to warrant a mention in the issue’s solicit and only exists as an opportunity for Emilia to showcase her ability to let people know when they’re about to die. Two Graves #2 features backmatter about Bugsy Siegel, and how the mob built up Las Vegas, but it doesn’t connect to the events of the story except for the quiet way Death goes about taking out someone in a poorly lit car park. Emilia’s unease there and at the ghost town they past earlier adds intrigue, but in a cards down on the table way, not “Oh shit, I can’t wait for the next issue.”

Two Graves #2’s saving grace is its visuals from Annie Wu and Lee Loughridge. Their gorgeous establishing shots sets up the feel of each locale Emilia and Death end up at from desert vistas to nondescript diners and motels that at least offer a soft, grey place to rest. One of Wu’s key strengths as a storyteller shines towards the end of the issue where she channels her work on Hawkeye and Black Canary to deliver a fight scene that establishes Emilia as an unexpected badass and Death as an even more enigmatic figure. Initially, Annie Wu uses shadow and negative space to illustrate the abstractness of trying to lay a hand on Death or Emilia. But, then, she turns the speed on by having multiple holds, kicks, and throws in a double page spread and turns what started as Emilia running away from May, Decima, and Indigo into something more physical. It’s a surprise after the vague and headiness of the issue up to that point, but a welcome one that utilizes Wu’s strength as a storyteller.

Although it’s a beautiful book (I love Annie Wu and Ming Doyle’s take on Death, and how he is and isn’t invisible), Two Graves has yet to strongly interest me with Genevieve Valentine plotting the series a little too mysteriously at this point. But she and Wu end Two Graves #2 on a strong, action-packed note that hopefully bodes well for future chapters.

Story: Genevieve Valentine Art: Annie Wu 
Colors: Lee Loughridge Letters: Aditya Bidikar
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.6 Overall: 7.6 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle