Second Coming: Trinity #2 // Review
God is going to Atheist Village in heaven. He’s not going there alone, though. He’s getting a ride. From an angel named Linda. She’s concerned that he’s going to a place full of heretics. It’s okay, though: he’s God. He’ll figure out some way to manage in Second Coming: Trinity #2. Writer Mark Russell plays with a few clever, little bits of absurdity in an issue delivered unto the page by the grace of Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk. Though it continues to hold a bit of charm here and there, Russell’s overall execution lacks the depth that would make it a truly inspired socio-cultural religious satire.
On the way to Atheist Village, God runs into a bunch of fans. God doesn’t let it get to his head, though. He’s wise enough to know that his own existence wouldn’t even really matter to them. All they’re really worshipping is their own fandom. Meanwhile, Jesus Christ is moving in with a superhero named Sunstar. The two guys get along pretty well, but Jesus will be babysitting a guy who might not have ever given himself the time to lead a normal life. So maybe he sees a little bit of his father in his new roommate. Then again...
Russell lets the situations in the situational comedy sell much of the humor in a story that doesn’t really seem to have a great deal of direction. Theoretically, the lack of forward motion in the plot might be a big part of the joke of the series. (It might even be the entire point of the premise to begin with.) Russell sets up weirdly comic situations and allows the substance of the situation to dictate the pulse of the humor. It’s a nice, organic approach that solidly avoids the cloyingly desperate nature of most situational comedy. That doesn’t excuse the lack of overall direction in the plot, though.
Pace and Kirk let the absurdity of the situation filter in through very realistically rendered visuals. There’s never any attempt for the kind of whacky rubberiness that might normally accompany a premise like Second Coming. There’s a respectable dedication to a very well-thought-out visual reality that never tries to reach for too much silliness. Simply present the classic white Christ next to a superhero and put the two of them on the path to cohabitation. God is getting driven by an angel in heaven. There would be a million ways to make that look like silly fantasy, but Pace and Kirk treat it like a normal commute in heavy traffic in L.A. It’s cleverly understated visually.
One gets the feeling that the satire would have a lot more bite if there was some sense of direction to it all. The generally meandering nature of the narrative DOES allow for a look at the aimlessness of spirituality in modern American life. There’s a genius satirical narrative buried somewhere in Second Coming, but Russell and company have actually done a really good job of avoiding it thus far.
