Nocterra vol. 2: Pedal to the Metal

Val, Emory, and Bailey didn’t just make it out of the sanctuary alive and with some crucial information about how to bring the light back to the world at the end of the last volume.  Additionally, they met up with some of Val’s friends from Outpost 41 and now they’ve got a proper convoy to protect themselves against the constant threat of the Shades.  Problem is that they’re not exactly sure where this place they’re supposed to go to, Eos, is in order to bring back the light.  So they’ve been retracing the steps of Bailey’s grandfather in order to get a clue.  Only they’ve been finding a lot of deserted settlements along the way.  With their options running out, Val pins their hopes on tracking down the one person who might know, or know the people who do, the location of Eos.  Unfortunately for them, that person is Blacktop Bill.

How much you enjoy this volume will likely depend on your appreciation of Bill as a character.  I thought the most interesting thing about him in the first volume was his all-black character design as his characterization established him as Just Plain Evil.  Writer Scott Snyder doubles down on that trait in the “Blacktop Bill Special” that opens this volume and I don’t think the results are all that interesting.  Taking this really evil character and going, “Oh no, he’s even more evil than that!” doesn’t do much for me.  I did like what they did with the character a few issues in and there’s some interesting tension in that development.  Too bad it doesn’t last.

Just as it was with the first volume, it falls to main artist Tony Daniel to sell what Snyder is offering here.  He doesn’t do the whole volume as Denys Cowan handles Bill’s “Special” in a way that offers a more grounded yet chunkier take on this world.  Daniel, on the other hand,  is still on fine form as he gives the action some impressive style and keeps the story moving whether the cast is blowing away shades or having some friendly conversations.  It’s enough to keep me interested, just not enough to hope that Snyder and Daniel keep “Nocterra” going for longer than is necessary.  The implication is that things could wrap up in the next volume and I’d be fine with that based on what we were given here.