Wow – that is a whopper of a second issue!  I was expecting something decent, but I wasn’t prepared for something that good.

Once again, we pick up with the Kurt Russell doppelgangers, Jack Burton and Snake Plissken, as they try to mount a rescue for famous musician Blind Apple Mary.  Said musician is in a Cleveland culture bunker surrounded by raiders and other sorts who did their clothes shopping in the Fallout department store.  Naturally, the hard-nosed Snake and the easygoing Jack are at odds with each other, but perhaps that might be their best asset.

A good chunk of the comic is devoted to Snake this time around, fleshing him out just as the first issue fleshed Jack out.  We even get a minor recap of Escape From New York when he runs into an old acquaintance from the movie.  In short, both this and the last issue have brought us up to speed on the backgrounds of both movies and can kick things into high gear from hereon out.

The fight scene itself took me by surprise by being fun, awesome, and humorous.  I’ve become accustomed to Burton’s stupid luck winning the day for him, but I didn’t expect Snake to weaponize it!  On reflection, though, it feels like the natural conclusion of what should happen when these two are put in a sticky situation together.  But it’s not all clown antics that crush the opposition; Snake shows why he was the best American soldier through his combat and gun training, and Burton brings his own thunder by driving his truck through the crowd.  Keep in mind, this is only the second issue.  One must wonder how the creators are going to top this…

And oh yes, there’s the ending… oh man, there’s the ending.  Back in the first issue, I predicted that the specter of Big Trouble villain David Lo Pan, who gave his own exposition dump for the movie, would likely play a bigger role in issues to come.  My prediction came true as he closed the issue by stirring things up in a way that can only lead to something bombastic.  I don’t dare spoil it, but suffice to say it takes the premise of the comic in a direction I did not see coming.

This issue definitely topped the previous one and promises amazing things to come.  Even though I still haven’t seen Escape From New York, I feel like I’m caught up enough to fully enjoy the issues to come.  If you haven’t looked at the first issue, I strongly recommend fixing that, because this one is a comic you shouldn’t miss.