The Expanse #2 (Corinna Sara Bechko)

The Expanse #2
The Expanse series, Issue 2
Corinna Sara Bechko and James S. A. Corey (creators), illustrations by Alejandro Aragon
BOOM! Studios
Fiction, Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: The investigation of corruption on Mars and Earth takes a turn... and not for the best. On Mars, former Martian Marine Bobbie Draper has been wounded in pursuit of criminals; how much more can she risk before her luck runs out? Back on Luna, sidelined politician Chrisjen Avasarala seems to have rattled the right cages in her own pursuit of answers; a contact offers her a chance to regain her former political clout, hinting at the building of a new order beyond the old, dying ways of Earth and Mars. But at what cost?
This series takes place between Seasons 4 and 5 of the Amazon Prime series The Expanse, based on the books by James S. A. Corey.

REVIEW: As expected, this picks up where the previous issue left off. Bobbie, in trouble after her near-miss with the organization behind the growing ring of thefts and corruption eating away the heart of the Mars she knew, must call in a favor from a friend, questioning what her commitment is gaining her other than fresh scars and fresh enemies. Chrisjen finds herself in personal danger after rejecting an offer that's too good to be true, for once without anyone to call upon to help her out of trouble. As with the previous issue, it's a brief fragment of a larger story, suffering for being a middle installment and thus a bit adrift; it starts and ends in the middle of larger arcs, and it's so short that, by the time I got myself oriented again in the larger story, it was almost over. (The continued rough sketchiness of the artwork did not help on this front.) Once more, I'm thinking this is a quartet that will read much better when it's published in a single volume instead of piecemeal like this, but I'm sufficiently impatient to just grab the issues as hoopla offers them. (The price tag of "free" for hoopla borrows is also a significant factor.)

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