Review: Mother Panic Vol. 2- Under Her Skin

Quick Summary

Pros: Most of the book is filled with fun and excitement. Readers get a chance to learn more about Violet’s past and discover the answers behind some of this series’ main questions. The artwork in the book’s first half looks great.

Cons: A main character from the book’s second half is handled rather poorly. The backup story is lackluster. The art in the book’s second half doesn’t suit the book’s tone very well.

Overall: The continuation of the Mother Panic series has a few problems but is still a unique and enjoyable comic book. This collection approaches typical Gotham vigilante antics with a twist, one that leads to some very entertaining moments. It stumbles a bit in the second half but has enough positives coming from the characters that these negatives can mostly be overlooked. Readers who enjoy the narrative surrounding Mother Panic are likely to enjoy this book, but those on the fence about this character may find this book less satisfying.

Story

Mother Panic Vol. 2: Under the Skin, by Jody Houser, is good but is not quite as universally appealing as its predecessor. This collection makes a few mistakes in the book’s second half and fails to really grab interest with its backup story. Luckily, Mother Panic’s narrative is still filled with fun moments of action and intense moments of suspense. This narrative also reveals some interesting information regarding mysteries developed in the first volume, which are satisfying to learn more about. All of this together makes a book that has some appeal but definitely not quite as much appeal as one would hope.

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Under Her Skin starts out by forcing Mother Panic into the role of a standard vigilante in Gotham City. Though placing her in such a role seems like it would make the book less unique and more conformist, it actually works out very well. Readers have a chance to see why Violet is so reluctant to simply work against crime in general. They also have a chance to see how far she will go in order to save people she cares about, as she majorly compromises her morals in order to save the child from this story.

The book’s second arc refocuses the narrative on ghosts from Violet’s past. This gives readers a chance to learn more about Violet’s messed up past and, in the background, also develops a minor arc that reveals more about Violet’s mother. It also has some thrills and excitement as well, especially when it seems like there is no way for Violet to free herself from the villain’s grasp.

However, this portion of the narrative does a rather poor job in handling one of the main characters, a newly introduced victim of Gather House. Instead of presenting this broken individual as someone who clearly needs help, she is killed before any chance of redemption is possible. Mother Panic ends up treating this character in the same manner that she previously chastised Batman for treating the mentally ill. It feels contrary to Violet’s character and takes away a lot of the impact from this particular story.

Unfortunately, the backup story in Under Her Skin, written by Jim Krueger, is not as enjoyable as it was in the previous volume (Review). Though the mystery here is still interesting and is able to draw the reader in, the actual story is a bit lackluster. It feels as if it is dancing around the validity of costumed heroes without actually saying anything meaningful about the subject. In the end, this isn’t a terrible backup story but it also fails to really add much of anything to the collection.

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Art

The artwork in Under Her Skin ends up feeling very similar to the artwork in A Work In Progress (Review), in that it starts out solid but gets worse about halfway through the book. The opening chapters here are stylized and gritty in a way that matches the dark tone of this story. John Paul Leon’s work here suits Mother Panic and this unique take on Gotham City very well.

However, the second half of the book fails to accomplish this same goal. Shawn Crystal’s chapters still look unique and allow the collection to stand out as something different. However, the specific style used here places emphasis on exaggerated qualities that nearly look humorous in moments where humor is completely inappropriate. This takes the emotion away from a few moments in this book and brings down the overall quality of the collection’s second half.

Continuity

Mother Panic Vol. 2: Under Her Skin continues the story started in Mother Panic Vol. 1: A Work In Progress (Review).

The story here continues in Milk Wars (Review) (Reading Order) and in Mother Panic: Gotham AD.

This volume also references a story from another comic book, detailed below.

• A “Court” controlling Gotham is mentioned here. This is likely a reference to the Court of Owls, which was introduced back in Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (Review).
• Lee Hyland’s transformation from criminal to hero is detailed in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #156, collected in Batman: Blink.