The Mandalorian #2 - Comic Review

Mirroring critically acclaimed Season 1 Episode 2 of the Disney+ series, The Child, The Mandalorian #2 from Marvel comics easily passes snuff in regards to living up to expectations. This story has quite a bit of narrative hefti work going on: Kuiil’s involvement and growing relationship with Mando, the Jawa job to retrieve the mudhorn egg, and the Child’s Force abilities being revealed.

What’s most impressive in The Mandalorian #2 is how the story is told to perfection using mainly images and very little dialogue. Kudos to writer Rodney Barnes for taking creative inspiration from the silence in the series and translating it to the comic book format in a refreshingly stunning way. Barnes takes full advantage of the fact that most, if not all readers, are familiar with the show and can imagine Ludwig Göransson’s score playing while they read (note to self: listen to the soundtrack and read this issue again) and all the characters speaking in the voices of the on-screen counterparts.

The artists involved in The Mandalorian #2, penciler Georges Jeanty, inker Karl Story, color artist Rachelle Rosenberg, and letterer Joe Caramagna similarly take advantage of the liberties the comic book format allows. Specifically, I’d argue the Child is more expressive as an illustrated comic book character than the puppeteer version from the series. This expression allows for greater depth of characterization, and makes the Child an even more endearing character than he already was (if that’s even possible). Shoutout to color artist Rachelle Rosenberg whose merit should not go unrecognized; I for one had to stop and stare at numerous pages for their artistic quality alone. Cover artist Kaare Andrews also provides an amazing cover, featuring a Drew Struzan style movie poster take on Mando and the Child.

The Mandalorian #2 does more than stand on the shoulders of the live action series, it takes the story to all new artistic heights. Grab your copy today!