Publishers: Marvel Comics
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Shawn Crystal
Colourist: John Rauch
Editors: Katie Kubert, Jon Moison
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $3.99

In Illuminati #2 Parker Robbins, the Hood, recruits a bunch of super villains to create the ultimate cabal, an Illuminati Army. The roster includes Black Ant; Enchantress, who always has a drink in her hand; Mad Thinker; Thunderball; and Titania. Unfortunately for the Hood, they’re all crazy idiots.

Overconfident and arrogant the Hood plans to sneak into Asgard, steal a bunch of weapons and sell them for enough cash to retire. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy. All the Illuminati need is an artificial Bifrost Bridge. The Illuminati track the creator down at Club Fernis, which has one rule: no violence. But Black Ant enlarges from inside a living body – (“I always wanted to try that,” he says) – and explodes his host, so all bets are off.

In Illuminati #2 Joshua Williamson’s dialogue is fast-paced and amusing. “My genius needs to breathe,” is how the Mad Thinker explains running experiments in his underwear. John Rauch’s art is stylish and loose, and fits the comic’s less-than-serious/serious attitude.

Fun and blackly amusing, Illuminati #2 feels a bit like DC’s old 1990s Justice League America, and that is no bad thing.

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker