ECLIPSE #2

Eclipse #5-8

by Zack Kaplan

In a world where sunlight burns people alive, Cielo Brandt, heiress of the city's most powerful company, and her savoir David Baxter, have both survived a killer who didn't burn in the sunlight. Now, both want answers about his origins; Cielo investigates the city's underground and her father's company, while Bax braves the post-apocalyptic wasteland and the discovery of another who is immune to the sun's rays. Collects ECLIPSE #5-8

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic

Unknown Binding

First published August 9, 2017

Reviews

[Kadi P · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part this was a muddled mess and quite average, but the ending sealed the deal for 4 stars by leaving things on an intriguing cliffhanger.

The art was better on the covers than the interiors, but some panels were great. The details on the landscape art on the double page spreads were fantastic and the colour schemes were utilised well to add to the dangerous and mysterious tones.

The plot only inched forward from where it left off in Eclipse, Vol. 1 and it started as it ended, leaving the reader with many questions and not a clue how to find answers.
What was enjoyable was seeing how there was no good guy. There were two different yet equally bad groups and the protagonist Bax was in the middle of them. The more the plot leaned into that trope, the more the confusion of who to root for slipped away as it became clearer that the only one you could root for was Bax.

The side story involving Rose/Cielo was sort of distracting and frustrating, especially because her crusade for answers was fruitless and the Underground people she allied herself with in the end may very well have been a potential third group of bad people. But it did seem like her side story was an important addition to the overall plot because it will likely come back to play a large part in Eclipse, Vol. 3’s plot.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I wasn't a big fan of the first volume of this series, I ended up reading this for a review series which required reading the entire series. I don't think Eclipse is the worst series I've ever read but I think it has some serious flaws.

In this second volume, David Baxter and Rose AKA Cielo (probably just gonna stick with Rose for the purposes of this review) Brandt have dealt with the serial killer that hunted Rose. Unfortunately, the issue doesn't end there. Rose doesn't feel safe, nor should she, and so she goes investigating in the Underground while Baxter is assigned to check out some shady dealings in the wastelands.

Happily, many of the flaws that annoyed me in the first volume were at least lessened in this one. There's less vague, scientific "who even knows?" type narrative comments by the main characters. Unfortunately, they're not a whole lot more compelling. My main issue with both main characters in the first volume was that neither is terribly interesting. Rose is a semi-rebellious eighteen year old who spends a lot of her time running away or being confused by things. Sure, she's been a sheltered kid but most people have a bit more in terms of motivations or personalities, even if they haven't seen terrible things all their lives (as she pretty clearly has). Baxter is the typical heroic character who is the sole good person who made some choices in the past that haunt them. Beyond the tragic loss of his wife and kid, there isn't much to him. Neither of those things really changes in this volume. Both characters remain "good guys" even among the corruption that surrounds them but I never really cared if they lived or died.

The story certainly improved as more of the background of the company Solarity and the Brandt family in general is revealed but it still feels too much like a standard dystopian evil company story. I'm frustrated that the series has a relatively interesting concept and just can't deliver a tone that feels original. If you like environmental disaster turned dystopia stories, you may enjoy it more than I did. As it is, I'm unsure of whether I'll continue reading this series to see if it improves.

[Zedsdead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bax continues to be a cardboard cutout stoic hero type. Cielo gets a bit more interesting in v2, as she goes underground to investigate the burnless ones, pitting herself against her father in the process. Both protagonists repeatedly find themselves in implausibly dramatic situations.

Three stars feels a bit on the generous side but I'm intrigued enough by the greater mystery to keep plugging away.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first volume, but this second one isn't as good. The creators assume you remember every little detail from that first story arc going into this, and if you don't, tough luck. The story, which was already overly-complicated, only gets more so. The artwork is serviceable. I can't see myself continuing past this point.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solarity Inc. claims to be trying to keep the city safe, but an underground movement sees them as fascists. When they come to blows, David and Rose end up in the middle, foced to choose between the two violent factions. Nobody can be certain which one is in the right. The sun is still doing a good job of killing people, but then so is the open war between Solarity and the underground. Peace and quiet is a long way away in this volume that tries to expand the Eclipse universe. It's a shame that it does it in the same lifeless tone used in the first volume.

Rose Brandt has received another death threat. The killer from first volume is already dead by David Baxter's hand, so it must be someone else. David joins Solarity Inc's Wallace Brandt to investigate an organization that's holding another man immune to the sun - a daywalker who again becomes everyone's target.

Rose looks for answers in an underground movement led by the Conductor, even though this goes against her father's wishes. Nick Brandt wants to keep her safe, but his company has some nasty dealings that she wants no part of.

David finds himself in a firefight between the underground and Solarity's mercenaries. He tries to rescue the daywalker they were holding captive, but fails and then turns on both factions in anger.

[Venus Maneater · Rating 2 out of 5]

oof. not a fan. every character is like a tv tropes page come to life.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent continuation of the excellent first volume. Instantly ready to read the next volume. :)

[Paul Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story develops as do all the characters

This comic collection deals with a world where the sun has become hot enough to burn and kill so, in New York, the people live underground during the day, only coming out at night. This volume concentrates on the phenomenon of the men who do not burn. Cielo and Bax are heavily involved in parallel stories into corruption among the leaders and others.

Quite a good yarn although the artwork does not always make it clear who each person is. The story continues and there is more to come.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was Cielo's story rather than Bax's, which was probably a good choice as his character seems pretty fully-formed, where she seems to have a huge arc ahead of her. There's also a real widening of the world of Eclipse as Bax travels out into the wastelands beyond New York, and Cielo explores the literal underground of the city. The story is a little less compelling this time around but I'll put that down to it feeling much more like the beginning of a long story compared with the first volume, which was entirely self-contained.

The art in this volume felt even more European than in the first. It looks just like a title from Humanoids or Insight. It's highly detailed and has a sort of hand drawn look. It's a nice change from the house styles of the big American publishers, although I imagine it wouldn't be to everyone's taste.

Once again, the back matter in this volume was exceptional. Details on every element of the creative process. Very rewarding for anyone with an interest not just in reading a cool comic but in seeing how it was put together.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is good. It's not bad, it's not great, it's just good. The first volume felt short to me, and I thought the action was rushed. Volume 2 was still short, but I felt like a lot more happened and the action wasn't rushed. I like Bax, and Rose is growing on me. There were some new characters introduced that were interesting and I hope to see more of them in future volumes. Some of the dialogue was a little cliche. It's what you normally see in an action movie or dystopian novel. I will continue with this series, but I won't rush out to get it when a new volume comes out.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to love this series. The art is great, the story is complex, the characters are interesting, and there's enough continued mystery to keep the plot moving forward at a good, quick pace.

There were a couple moments in this volume where it felt like things could have been explained a touch more clearly (and other such nit-picky issues) but I very consistently enjoyed reading this and look forward to seeing where it goes in the next installment.

[irene ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i expected this arc to be better than the first one, but that didn’t happen.


issue #5: 3/5 only for the last pages. even though there are more questions than answers, i always enjoy a good cliffhanger.

issue #6: 3/5, wow, everything is going crazy.

issue #7: 3.5/5 I NEED answers about Solarity.

issue #8: 3/5 the world building is incredible, but the arc didn’t meet my expectations.

[Johan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got his via the Top Cow 30th Anniversary. You should really think that people would come together after a disaster that killed billions and made life on earth perilous. But instead bullets are flying and people are dying. Not impressed by the story and the artwork. It is not bad but I am not in the mood for anything dystopian right now. I gotta find me something else to read.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zack Kaplan's Eclipse gets better in volume two as we start to learn more about this world. I still wish things were fleshed out even more. Giovanni Timpano's art is very good at times but the backgrounds are too rough in certain panels. Overall, the series is improving and that's good to see.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good follow up to the first trade. The story did not move forward a lot but it was a good solid second collection

[TJ Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume two didn't slow down a bit. And it left us hanging on a major turning point in the story. Can't wait for volume 3 to come out.

[Sean Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storytelling through paneling and page layout, as the story slowly moves along. Issue #9 out in August!

[Roman Colombo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is getting even more intriguing, and the art is great. Especially the color work.

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reread this to remind me what was going on.

[Robert Kosara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty well constructed, with looks back interweaves with current action. I like the drawing style and the story is moving nicely and is pretty interesting.