Home Sick Pilots, Vol. 2: I Wanna be a Walking Weapon

Home Sick Pilots #6-10

by Dan Watters, Caspar Wijngaard (Artist)

There is a haunted house that has learned to walk. As it chases her across the country, Ami, lead singer of the Home Sick Pilots, regrets teaching it how. But when the military attempts to develop their own ghost-powered weapon, the Old James House might be the only defense the world has against what they unleash.

Collects HOME SICK PILOTS #6-10

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 16, 2021

About the author

Dan Watters is a UK based comic book writer. His first book, LIMBO, was released through Image Comics in 2016. He has since written THE SHADOW at Dynamite Comics, and ASSASSIN’S CREED and WOLFENSTEIN for Titan Comics.

Currently he is writing the relaunch of LUCIFER for Vertigo’s Sandman Universe, as well as DEEP ROOTS for Vault Comics. Deeply rooted in London Town, and firmly of the Devil's party.

Reviews

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy the first volume of this series, but I wanted to give it another try. I like its ambition at crossing the sci-fi and horror genres and placing it all through the lens of a coming of age punk rock story, but in trying to be all of those things, it failed to make me enjoy any of the elements. The character interactions are all 90s WB network, while the action is barely shown resulting in the characters awkwardly trying to work exposition dumps into dialog.

I will not be picking up Volume Three.

[Vanny (reading.halfling) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was ein genialer Comic! Auch wenn mir inhaltlich einzelne Punkte nicht so gut gefallen haben wie im ersten Band, war es alles in allem eine super gute Fortsetzung.
Ich liebe den Stil weiterhin und finde auch die Verrückung des Fokus super gut gelungen. Dadurch wird auch nochmal mehr von der Gegenseite beleuchtet und macht das Geschehen zumindest für mich nochmal interessanter und spannender.
Ich bin schon ganz gespannt auf den dritten Band!

[Aquila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throw in a little of The Sixth Gun, and road trip, and a dash of The Umbrella Academy for good measure? I hope the next volume offers some insight into what is actually happening. That would be nice.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rad art, ghost-piloting characters, and punk rock anarchy? 🤘 This was a solid second volume in this series, loved the hard hitting tones of the fucked up traumatic world.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Home Sick Pilots takes a sharp left turn into Pacific Rim territory as the ongoing plot gets both massively bigger and intensely personal for all involved in this second arc.

It straddles the line between genres with some horror-filled sequences butted up against some giant kaiju battle scenes, right next to some introspective conversations between characters, and yet somehow manages to pull off all of the above brilliantly.

I wasn't entirely enamoured with this series during the first arc, but by the end of this one I was well and truly sucked in, which isn't a Ghostbusters joke but should be.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another strong entry in this series. In broad strokes, this continues to be a paranormal action ghost story. But centering its narrative on teenagers in the punk rock era, Home Sick Pilots becomes and coming of age story full of uncertainty and decisions making while also channeling the rage of characters faced with a world steadily marching toward further pain. With Vol. 2, the challenge between harnessing pain or giving into it becomes even more clear as Ami and the others try to figure out how to survive the clash inevitably headed their way.

[TV’s Kevin Lanigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another colorful, charming, haunting volume. My only issue is it’s a five issue build-up to a fight that we will have to wait for next time on Dragonball Z.

[Rowen H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series kicks so much ass

[Sarah Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow the last issue in this one bumped it up to 5 stars for me

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate these books and I hate even more that I can't stop reading them and will continue reading the series.

[Mel Horadam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is great

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, if you put a comic in front of me that marries Pacific Rim with The Conjuring movies, I'm gonna enjoy myself. This series is still stronger in theory than execution, but I appreciate the growth here. We get a bit more introspection from the characters, a few more threads to invest in, and Wijngaard's art continues to kick ass. We get less action in this volume, which is a bummer, especially considering the abrupt ending, but I liked seeing how colorful and expressive Wijngaard illustrated the quieter moments.

Watters' script is a little too loose for my tastes, and his character development comes off as rushed, but his plot is solid and steals from all the right kinds of places. The world of Home Sick Pilots is a fun one with a sleek balance of terror, rage, and punk-rock mech-battles. It rules, and there's enough stuff going on in these first two volumes to keep me on board.

[Jake Kilroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dig this increasingly bonkers world for lacking middle-aged adults and beyond. It's just older teenagers and young adults dealing with totally wild supernatural chaos. The researchers guiding the top-secret team researching ghosts like they could be a new source of clean energy out in the nuclear desert? Basically a clubhouse of ambitious, morally ambivalent youths. Crew needs a ride for the road trip up the coast to stop the insane demon-like ghost controlling a teenage musician in a gigantic mech suit? Don't worry, they've got a haunted house modded out as a tank. Protagonist duo goes to a punk show? Of course it devolves into a conversation-turned-meditation about selling out after a certain age. This whole thing's a hoot. Plus, an eternally blood-soaked youth with Venom-like powers obsessed with blowing up a haunted house that later walks out of the ocean? Come on, come on, come on, gimme more of these supremely colorful oddities.

[OneMamaReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume starts by following the Government training of the only surviving member of rival band the Nuclear Bastards, Meg. She is learning to channel ghosts in objects, like Ami, in hopes of turning a mecha-suit into a fighting machine.

Meanwhile, the Old James House is at the bottom of the sea, with Ami and Buzz suspected of being dead. Rip is in the desert, trying to talk sense into Meg about this shady Government group.

Once again a unique story that highlights the horrors and cruelties of America's past (specifically Nuke testing in the desert). Meg is looking to harness immense power, as her former bandmates cling to her as blood and whisper for revenge.

Ami, meanwhile, is trying to escape the house, to be free again. But stopping Meg, and keeping the house ghosts in check, means she will have to give up her hard won freedom.

The panels are once again vibrant and propulsive, with muted tones that are interrupted by splashes of colour. A great second installment, looking forward to where the story ventures in the volume three.

[Alex Sarll]

Generally, when I embark on a volume 2 (or whatever), it brings back most of the memory of what was happening before. But even though it's only 18 months since I read this series' opening, I found myself drawing a near-total blank on who these people were or what had been happening to them beyond the whole haunted house mecha bit of the pitch. No matter; it still feels like a bold if not entirely successful attempt at combining neighbourhood spookiness with cartoon tie-in toyetic, two flavours often loved by the same kids but seldom brought together before now. Plus, with the house itself in abeyance as this collection opens, there's space for some quieter and more emotional moments, as when the two kids riding the rails allow themselves to admit that, for all they may be on the run from something terrifying, they are also having a pretty good time. Which, inevitably, can't last. Some ingenious and poignant origin stories for the weird spooks, too.

[Rebekah May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than the first volume! I really love the art and it just keeps getting better. Caspar Wijngaard uses the same colour palette as the first volume, which I am so in love with. We're introduced to more ghosts and I enjoyed seeing the way they change and how the salt pills effect them. I'm interested to know more about that in future volumes.

The story is much better in this one, now we can spend more time with the characters and it's starting to get a bit more of a direction. I really enjoyed seeing people bond and meeting some new characters, as short lived as that turned out to be! I'm excited to see what happens next.

I know that the next single issues after #10 are coming out from this month onwards so I might have to start picking them up. I don't know if I can wait another 5/6 months for the next volume!

[Jaclyn Hillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the last volume, the Old James House (a haunted house) learned to walk, and walked right into the Pacific. Now it chases Ami, the lead singer of the Home Sick Pilots, across the country. And a military group has created their own ghost-powered weapon, the Nuclear Bastard, in attempts to defeat the house.

The story alternates between Rip and Meg, and Ami and Buzz. We get so much more character development in this volume and I love that. You really see how heavy their grief is about everything that has happened.

My favorite part, however, was those few honest and hard sitting pages about nuclear warfare and the lasting effects it has had on people in the southwestern desert area of the United States. It was mind-blowing and a gut punch at the same time.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The artwork is still great, following on directly from the first volume.
The story, kicks up gear, once Meg & Nuclear Bustard lives up to it's name and taps into the Arizonian deadlands and ghosts resulting from the nuclear tests carried out on American soil. The incident with the creature created using the bodies of right-wing Nazi hate-mongers is a satisfyingly gross moment - "...he heard some men on the beach talking about how things used to be better. And how they could be better again, if they were united properly.
So he decided to UNITE them. And all their friends."

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

Total review score: 1.95

[Honora Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually think this series is pretty rad. The art is truly exquisite and the characters and really cool (and all kind of terrible people but they're all developing). Obviously Ami is an interesting protag but during the first volume I was actually really intrigued by Meg and I enjoyed the story following her and her own adventures with ghosts. I am EXCITED for vol. 3 (which I hope happens!)

[Luke John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second, and penultimate, volume expands on the Home Sick Pilots universe, but only slightly, very much keeping the story a personal one, grounded in the 90s teen punk reality laid out on volume one. For me this series remains a joy to read, it's mecha dressings thinly veiling a story of youthful rebellion and waywardness.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still like the art. The story's not really doing a lot for me though. There are small moments I like (like when we got to learn about the ghosts' origin stories) but overall I don't care too much about what's happening. It's not pulling me in, emotionally.

That said...if I remember...I'll probably read the next volume.

[Sebastian Lauterbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still fun, but this a slow buildup volume.

We get to see two parties building up for a showdown and I like the portrayal of both. I really like the idea that each of the 'ghosts' will be piloted by the girl members of their respective bands.

Artwork is still good, the covers are still amazing and the colouring is still not my cup of tea.

Onto the final volume!

[Micah Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of this series has a much more cohesive direction and understandable world-building. Also, the back-to-back scenes of going to a punk show and then a diner feel so lived-in and real I flipped through it a couple times just to experience that nostalgia. That’s some real solid work by Wijngaard.

[Eric Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah I don’t think I’m going to continue this comic. I like the art and the ghost ideas are cool but I find the messaging a bit hackneyed as well as the idea that punk bands are cool and about something really deep.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge improvement from the first one for sure! It was a little rushed but not as much as the first one, definitely a lot more detail and a lot more suspenseful then the Vol 1.

I will be picking up Volume 3 when it drops this summer!

[Kjaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've told myself to be more critical with my Goodreads-reviews, as to not wrongfully grant 5 stars after 5 stars.

But fuck it, Home Sick Pilots is amazing, on pretty much all accounts. Go read it, right now.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much clearer picture of the story comes into focus in volume 2. Still, a really cool concept and I appreciate the art and pop culture allusions. It's a grim and sad story, but a very intriguing one.
I am looking forward to more.

[Dan McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely feel like this second volume started off a little shaky but the way the ending is set up here makes it interesting for me. Not the way I saw this series going but nonetheless, it looks to be an action-packed ending!