An Unkindness of Ravens #2 // Review
It’s Wilma’s second day at the new school. She’s just been accosted by the goth girls who turn out to be actual witches. Now the most popular and influential girl in the school is interested in talking to her. She really just wants to be left alone. How hard could that be? She’s about to find out in the second issue of An Unkindness of Ravens. Writer Dan Panosian’s story develops further intrigues in another issue brought to life with a distinctly pleasant atmosphere by artist Marianna Ignazzi. The slow-moving serial continues to introduce Wilma and the readers to the world of a small-town high school that is populated by many secrets.
Wilma’s meeting with the Ravens out the back of the school seemed pleasantly strange enough, but she’s still adjusting to her new life and new friends. She’s very sharp. She’s picking up a lot on her second day, but she’s not going to be able to avoid a meeting in the library with influential school princess Scarlet. She might want to avoid Scarlet, but she IS attracted to Scarlet’s brother and her friend Ansel wants to take advantage of the opportunity to hang out with the most popular kids in school. What could go wrong?
Panosian’s decision to take his time with the story and really let the first couple of days of Wilma’s time at the new school play-out seems to be paying off. The moody strangeness of being a new kid at a small-town school serves as a strong foundation of the mystery of the magic in the shadows of Wilma’s life. Above all, Wilma’s central perspective seems very, very appealing. Her inner monologue drives the story quite well. She’s a fun character to hang out within the strange world of Crab’s Eye. The basic premise of the story isn’t terribly interesting, but Panosian’s characterization of Wilma gives the series an appealing personality.
Ignazzi continues to develop the social world of Carb’s Eye. High school kids in the margins all seem to have stories of their own. Wilma’s intricate emotional state rests in very clean renderings of facial features and very natural-looking postures. There’s no big confrontation this issue outside of a brush with magic. It’s all moody conversation. Ignazzi manages to keep it interesting with a steady pen that doesn’t try to reach for an overt intensity that isn’t there. Ignazzi seems to know exactly what Panosian’s scripts needs and she knows exactly how to deliver it.
The begins with the ending of Wilma’s first day in school and ends early on in the afternoon of her second day. The first day she met with the outcasts. The second day she meets with the popular girl. There’s a very steady balance being executed in the first couple of issues of the series that will be fun to follow so long as Panosian and Ignazzi maintain the same moody, dramatic pacing that they’ve established in the first couple of issues.
