Skyward, Vol. 2: Here There Be Dragonflies

Skyward (single issues) #6-10

by Joe Henderson, Lee Garbett (Contributor), Antonio Fabela (Contributor)

Now a fugitive, Willa leaves Chicago and goes on the run! But when she takes refuge with some low-G farmers, she stumbles into a plot to attack the city. Oh, and on top of all that: giant, man-eating bugs! Maybe we should have led with that.

SKYWARD VOL. 2 collects issues 6-10 of the hit ongoing series from writer JOE HENDERSON (showrunner of Fox's LUCIFER) and artist LEE GARBETT (LUCIFER, LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD).

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Fiction

104 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2019

Reviews

[Jade Ratley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first, but the giant bugs were kinda cool... and kinda gross.

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Willa and Edison have left Chicago and are on a train to Kansas City. Barrow is determined to stop Willa, no matter what, so he stops all the trains. Stuck in the middle of a forest isn’t as safe as it used to be. Since G-Day the bugs have supersized and Willa narrowly escapes being a dragonfly’s dinner when a badass warrior farmer with a sword, Lucas Serrano, saves her. Riding a butterfly, no less.

“So now we’re trapped in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of farmers turned crazy survivalists. What could go wrong?”

There’s so much going on in this volume. Giant bugs are now above us on the food chain! There are explosions! You don’t know who you can trust because it seems like practically everyone has a secret and/or ulterior motive.

It’s so much fun!

I really enjoyed the first volume, which I reviewed here. It ended with a cliffhanger and here I am again, sitting on the edge of a cliff. Now I have to wait until August to see how this all plays out in Skyward, Vol. 3: Fix the World.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gigantic bugs that eat humans for breakfast? It's a no from me (sounds like a nightmare scenario), but I still enjoyed the story so much. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. In some ways, this was even better than the first volume. I'm honestly obsessed.

4.5

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 STARS

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

More action, more competing and opposed interests, more peril, double-crosses, flesh-eating bugs.....yup, this series is fun, and the artwork continues to be kinetic and attractive.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story: After the events of the last volume our hero, Willa is on the run. Soon after trying to escape she gets caught in maybe a worst situation. Bugs aren't as prone to humans now that gravity is gone, they've got a little assholish. However, what happens when a new colony of people wants to make a revolution. To fight back? Who will be in their way?

Art: Still saying very strong. Designs and world building is nice with that art. I did think sometimes it looked a little plain in the background though.

Enjoyment: Enjoyed a lot of the events here, it moved at a nice pace, and Willa remains one of the better protagonist in a series. I also think the villain is pretty interesting which is a nice surprise. Oh and the ending is leaving this wide open for some crazy shit coming.

What didn't work: Less grounded, no pun intended. Gigantic bugs and stuff gets more into fantasy. I also think this one was a little more predictable.

Overall, solid and fun. I didn't love it but I liked it still. Hoping volume 3 brings it back up a bit though.

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this series!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in the Skyward series! The color story followed along with the darker tones of this volume (vs. the bright colors and storyline of vol.1). I have the third installment on request at my library and look forward to seeing how Willa and her world wrap up!

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having realized last volume that the author was not taking a hard science fiction approach, I tried to read this one with the mindset that it was pure fantasy, and even then I couldn't wrap my head around the unlikelihood of the events as it descended into super cheesy, pure bugfuck YA dystopia.

Heavy on the bugs.

Seriously, I think I got whiplash from the nonstop betrayals, secret reveals, and shifting alliances as Willa flees Chicago on her quest to fix gravity. To do this she needs to reach . . . um . . . Kansas City?! Well, that's a road down which I will not follow her.

[Valéria. · Rating 4 out of 5]

More action than in the first volume, a lot of bugs (the bigger the better), twists in the story. Yeah, I liked that. Interested in where this all goes..

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Willa’s adventure continues as she continues the mission her father gave her to fix the world and bring back gravity. Only now she is a fugitive and Barrow will stop at nothing to stop her and keep the world the way it is with him having all the power and money. On the way she finds a farm which sends meat to the city, but things at the farm are not what they seam. I love the artwork in this story and the original plot line. There are so many the world as we know it would end if scenarios, but I have honestly never had anyone else explore what would happen if gravity failed.

[Zoeisbookhooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone wanna buy me a physical copy? ...no? Ok😭
These are truly amazing and like I said I really want to own them now😂

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An imaginative yet oddly paced journey of self-discovery within a mysterious and expanding world filled with strange phenomenons but the dialogue and resolution make for an underwhelming experience.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting series, and it is cool to see how the gravety reduction is dealt with for different problems.

[Nessa [October Tune] · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly think I should have reread the previous one before going into this one because there were just a couple of things that confused me. Also this one just felt like a bit of a filler.. Will definitely pick up the last one to see how the series ends, though, and I guess I'll do that closer to me reading this one (maybe I'll even pick the next one up this month).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5+ stars. Further world development (bugs get big in low-g - and they were already carnivorous!, the difference between haves and have-nots expands away from the protection of the cities, people will do anything to keep what power they have even if the world is effed).

Willa leaves the city to try to get to Kansas City where she hopes to find her father’s way to “fix the world.” On the way she discovers the wilds belong to bugs and frontiersman-types with their own connections to the big baddie from Vol 1. In fact, what if in fighting big-bad, they’re actually worse?

I like when a sophomore volume broadens the world and complicates the characters (and politics). This series might have legs. (Not that you need them in low-g).

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am still really enjoying this series! Willa and Edison are on a train out of Chicago to Kansas City when Barrow shuts down all the trains, leaving the passengers trapped in the wilderness where gravity-free bugs have grown to enormous size.

I really liked bringing in another aspect of gravity-free life with the giant bugs. In the absence of gravity, dragonflies and other bugs can keep growing, unencumbered by the weight of their exoskeletons. There were some new characters introduced, some more world history, and a few unexpected twists in this issue that really upended the plot in a good way. On to number 3!

[Michael Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still a good series but after the excitement and novelty of the first volume this felt like it was treading water a bit. Yes - there was the introduction of Lucas and the insect farmer/warriors but the plot was driving towards "Willa finding a cure for the lack of gravity" and this volume was a tangent on that journey. It did give her more urgency to find the cure but Lucas and his fellow farmer's actions seem a little cra cra.

I think I wouldn't have minded the tangent as much if it was a longer series like Y the Last Man Standing but with there only being 15 issues it seemed odd to spend five of them on this mini detour.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why isn’t everyone talking about this series?? This is so good. It has suspense, intrigue, sci-fi and fantasy. It’s a futuristic world dealing with the consequences of a devastating loss of gravity. I loved seeing the class war that’s ensued from how people dealt with the changes. It’s interesting to see proof that the devastation ruined some people while exponentially helping others. I’ve never thought about a world like this and it was absolutely fascinating every time something new came up, like how they don’t have bodies of water on ground any more and how they sustain their food sources. This is everything I want in a good sci-fi story.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual issue reviews: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10

Total review score: 2.5

[Lost in Book Land · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello Again!


It is only Tuesday but this week feels like it has been 100 days long, and I honestly do not know why. But I am trying to put a positive spin on the week and enjoy each day and my read of the day or whatever it is I am doing. The other night I spent some time hanging up the lights on my bookcases (picture to come on my Insta once I finish, I am one set short and waiting for them to ship) and read this great second volume in this graphic novel series.


SPOILERS AHEAD


In this volume, we pick up with Willa and friends as they are running from the city and the evil corporation owner (a.k.a. an old friend of her dads) right after her dad has been killed. She now has his book with the answer to how to restart the gravity in it and is trying to piece that together while also trying to hide because now she is a wanted terrorist. When we see Willa again she is hiding in the back of a train car on her way to Kansas City because that is where she believes the notebook is telling her to go. However, on the way there the train is shut down and they have nowhere to go but off the train. But that is also kind of not an option because if you get off the train giant bugs (and I do mean giant) will eat you. Of course, someone gets off the train, and Willa goes out to save them, however, Willa ends up needing saving and that is when this weird guy riding a literal giant butterfly shows up to save her and the other guy. From there the butterfly riding man and his group tell the train passengers they can all go back to the farm with them and leave from there. However, they learn a ton of secrets while at the farm and more trouble comes there way.


I picked this series up from Hoopla on a whim a while ago and I enjoyed the first volume enough to be like yeah, let's try the second. But I have to say the second is so much better than the first! I loved the art style in this one even more (I do not honestly know if it changed all that much or if the colors just popped more). I also loved the plot in this second volume a lot. It was intense and engaging and you could not really guess what was about to happen at any given moment! I am so ready to jump into volume three (I do not know if that is the last volume or just the last one out right now). I am giving this volume five stars on Goodreads. If you have access to Hoopla or another graphic novel platform I highly suggest checking it out.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eu estava aqui pensando se o segundo volume de Skyward conseguiria manter o mesmo nível do primeiro e, olha, consegue mesmo, se é que não fica até melhor. Joe Henderson e Lee Garbett nos apresentam o mundo sem gravidade fora das cidades, nas florestas e nas fazendas, onde terríveis insetos gigantescos atacam a população. A missão de Willa de reverter a situação do mundo vai se tornando mais perigosa a cada passo que ela dá, e também mais intrigante, tais as reviravoltas que acontecem na trama. A ação é interessante e não tem lutinhas descabidas como em muitas histórias em quadrinhos de super-heróis. Esse segundo volume funciona mais como uma mistura de ação na selva com história de agentes secretos. Jonathan Hickman compara a série com Y: O Último Homem, mas acho que a comparação não cabe, ela é a sua própria coisa, o seu próprio universo e seus próprios personagens, com suas dinâmicas e preocupações bem diferentes das de Yorick Brown. Por outro lado, fico imaginando aqui que Skyward daria uma ótima série de televisão caso um dia fosse adaptada. Agora tenho de comprar o terceiro volume que encerra a série.

[Gabriell Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radujme se a veselme se. Tedy aspoň já se raduji a veselím, neboť moje důvěra v druhý díl (po průměrném prvním) byla odměněna.
Druhý díl nás posouvá za hranice města a je to dobře. Tohle je svět ze kterého chce člověk poznat co nejvíc to jde a i když nám tu zase naservírují jenom menší kousek, tak na ukojení hladu a hlavně další chutě to docela stačí.
Dějově se tu taky docela dupne na plyn, přibude tu i nějaké to násilí a víc postav pro které jsou mrtví lidé prostě jenom čísla v konečné statistice dosažení vlastního plánu.
Povinný cliffhanger na konci je samozřejmostí a i když bych to původně nečekal, tak najednou vyhlížím třetí book a doufám, že opět potěší.

Mohlo by se vám líbit, pokud:
- jste chtěli ze světa, kde zmizela gravitace vidět víc než jenom jedno město

Spíš vás zklame, pokud:
- pro vás zajímavý a pěkně nakreslený svět není dostatečnou omluvou pro plně očekávatelný děj

[Jassmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first volume. Some elements were a tad annoying - the kind of love triangle, the way the working-class revolt is completely bloodthirsty. Overall, this was fine continuation, but I wanted different elements of the story to shine - like the romance! I'm curious how it will all end though, because the return of gravity doesn't really seem like such a great option when you really think about it.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Read it in a sitting oh my gosh

[Readingwithnori · Rating 5 out of 5]

And I thought that the story and the characters wouldn’t get any better... WRONG! I was blown away and I was SHOOKETH. I was so immersed in the plot about no gravity and the after effects that I totally forgot about the animals and well... can’t really say much without spoiling the story but once you pick it up you can’t up it down. Can’t wait to continue the series.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

This one was a real disappointment for me. I loved the first Skyward book so much - I was raving about it for days.

This one is a little side quest-y, but that usually doesn't bother me. I just didn't like the ridiculous and unnecessary love triangle that was crammed in here, as well as Willa and Edison's just pure disconnect this whole time. It was so infuriating - they just kept disagreeing in a way clearly meant to cause drama and it was so dragged out.

Also, I just didn't like Willa's character as much in this one. She sort of becomes a "hero" with some people, which I didn't like - it was better when she was on the run.

I also missed some of the characters from the first book who weren't in here at all. I guess I'm looking forward to going back to them. But come on, just make Edison and Willa get along. Please.

And geez, what a spoilery title.

But that ending! I'm pumped for book 3. I double-checked my library account - yep, put that on hold the same day as this book. Still not here. Aah, I'll wait.

3.5/5 stars. Very disappointing, but I still cannot wait for the finale.

[Dakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

My issues with this vol are the same as the 1st, I don't think the characters struggles or motivations are all that compelling. And just like the first volume, I think I would enjoy this concept more if it was rooted more in science fiction rather than fantasy.

[Devon Munn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Brianna - Four Paws and a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!