Joe the Barbarian #2

Joe the Barbarian does not read well as individual issues. The same could be said for a lot of what Grant Morrison writes. I don't know if that's a criticism or not. Every time I want to be snarky about Morrison, I remember how fucking awesome he can be. Everyone's got their favorites of his; I like Seaguy, Doom Patrol, and We3. Two issues in, I don't like Joe the Barbarian. After eight, chances are I will.

Sean Murphy continues to draw his balls off. Some of his panels are honestly kind of muddled and confusing, but that totally suits the writing, intentional or not. Overall, though, the art is the book's strongest point so far.

As for plot, more of the same. There's nothing terribly interesting or original yet to dissect. We can assume that Joe is suffering through fantastical hypoglycemic hallucinations & his rodent pal Jack here serves as quasi-guide through the abyss. Lots of straws to grasp at, nothing satisfying yet.

I don't like this kind of book. If I'm going to like Joe the Barbarian at all, it probably won't happen until the entire series is done and I can read it through as one story. In the mean time, it's a book that I'll probably drop money on every month & kind of regret it. I should wait for the trade! But I won't!