Adventureman vol. 2: A Fairy Tale of New York

Claire Connell has brought the legacy of “Adventureman” to the modern era and her life has been all the better for it.  This legacy comes with some ghosts of its own – literal ones, in fact!  When Claire has an encounter with some unruly spirits in the subway, she realizes that it’s her duty to find out where they came from.  Which leads her first to a charming encounter with the new Crossdraw Kid who has his own connection to this spectral disturbance.  Ghostbusting is going to be the least of Claire’s problems if she runs out of the serum that gives her powers, however.  Good thing that she’s got a gaggle of talented sisters and an eccentrically intelligent son to help her out there.

I enjoyed the first volume of “Adventureman” well enough, mainly because I felt reading it in paperback form validated my decision to wait for it in that cheaper format.  Vol. 2 only further convinces me that I made the right choice there because reading the story previously collected in the two hardcover collections that make up this one would’ve been a frustrating experience.  You see, this volume collects issues #6-9 from when this series was still being solicited as an ongoing one, and the two-issue “Ghost Lights” mini.  That may imply you’re getting two separate stories here when you’re not.  This is one six-issue storyline that was serialized over a period of years.

The real kicker:  It’s not even complete!  “Ghost Lights” ends with a major cop-out of an ending that goes straight into the next arc.  The first part “Family Tree” is already collected and there’s no indication when it’ll be followed up on.  I’d be angry about that, but “Adventureman” isn’t really good enough for that.  Yes, it’s still sumptuously illustrated by Terry Dodson, and Matt Fraction gives its main cast charm and wit, but the story it’s telling isn’t all that interesting as it gets by on charm and style more than anything else.  Neither of which can save the non-ending at the end of this volume from being really disappointing.  If I’m willing to wait and see if things get better in vol. 3, it’s all down to the fact that my patience is coming from how I’m just not anticipating it.