The last time I reviewed Pathfinder, I found that it was a great example of a fantasy nbook that wasn’t too mired in a grim setting. Its characters were well thought-out, and it really seemed like the personalities of multiple RPG players were shining through. This came from writer Jim Zub’s tabletop experience, and it really shone through. This month, I get to see if that translated into a nice second issue, as well.

Things I liked:

• For the most part, this book carried over a lot of the things I liked from the first issue into the second: sharp writing, interesting characters, fantasy violence and all of the things that make tabletop RPGs great.
• I enjoyed the plot hooks and cliffhangers, as, well, that’s how Dungeon Masters do it; you don’t want to reveal too much in the early goings, because you might lose your players‘/readers’ attention when they wonder “Who’s that? Why is he/she doing this?”
• Character interactions seem to be spot on, but a little less frequent than last issue. This is a combat-heavy month, and similar to how RPG campaigns are laid out (combat, roleplaying, exposition all separate) this book seems to be following that formula, as well.

Things I didn’t:

• If I have any complaints about this book, it’s that the art kind of pinballs around from “cartoony expressions” to “realistic gore”; while this isn’t exactly a huge problem, it presents an issue with consistency. Some pages feel like Jim Zub’s more comedic series, Skullkickers, while others delve right back into combat. If it weren’t for the sharp turns at every transition, it would be fine.

Pathfinder #2
Dynamite! Comics
$2.99

The Verdict: This book is quickly becoming one of my favourite titles each month, and I can honestly give it a high four out of five battle-axes. I hope missing a month (September) won’t become a habit, and the pace of the book settles down a bit - right now, it’s a RPG player’s wet dream, but “regular” comics readers might be a bit lukewarm.