
Matt Miner’s Liberator #2
Created and Written by Matt Miner
Pencils & Inks by Javier Sanchez Aranda
Colours by Joaquin Pereyra
Matt Miner’s Liberator series from Black Mask Studios returns to your local comic book shop this week with issue #2 of 4 hitting stands July 31st, 2013.
Building on the clout Miner has generated with his for charity series about animal liberation, issue #2 allows readers to jump back into the world of Liberator and builds upon the tension between Damon and Randy we saw glimpses of in issue 1. Liberator #2 opens with Randy bullying Damon with feminine jeers and the owner of the coffee shop having to intervene. Call me crazy but I think somethin’s a-brewin’ here. Something tells me Miner’s building towards something with this coffee-shop feud, and perhaps I’m just a misanthrope but typically when someone is a douche to human beings as Randy is, they’re an even bigger douche to animals. And that would allow for our handsome hero (Damon), to take some kick-ass action against the hulking buffoon Randy.

Call me crazy but I think somethin’s a-brewin’ here.
Following this little tiff between protagonist and antagonist, Miner takes us right back in amongst it with some TV news coverage of the arson attack on the dog-fighting ring Damon liberated in issue #1 (don’t have issue 1 yet? What are you waiting for! Hit your LCS on the 31st and grab both of them!). It appears the valiant knights that head up the glorious Federal Bureau of Investigation have deemed the liberation of animals from the clutches of a sadist an act of “terrorism”. In case you are somewhat cloudy on what that word means, it is basically a bogeyman word promulgated by governments to apply to anyone other than the government itself, although, governments automatically fit their own definitions of terrorism. So now that the good ole’ Eff-Bee-Eye have labeled Damon a “terrorist”, you’d think he’d be packing his bags and dropping off the grid. Not so quick. A less-than-admirable group of animal activists lay claim to the attack, which helps take some of the heat off Damon’s ass (for now, at least). Interestingly, Randy (the douche bully) full-heartedly agrees with the FBI that the person(s) responsible for the dog-fighting liberation are terrorists. Again, as I said above, I think Miner is building something here so pay close attention to the interactions between Damon and Randy as we begin the latter half of the arc with issues #3 and #4. It’s the classic battle of liberalism (Damon) vs. conservatism (Randy). Having chatted with Matt Miner a good deal I think I know how this one will play out, although he hasn’t told me specifically. We’ll just have to wait and see kids!

Let me tell you first: fur farms are some sort of dystopian evil shit you think would belong in a George Orwell story or a Matt Miner comic, but they’re all around us.
Now that Miner’s built on the events of issue #1 in the opening pages of issue #2, it’s time for Damon to do what Damon does best: liberate (and fuck up the baddies!). Following the successful liberation of the dog-fighting ring, Damon’s next target is the McMartin fur-farm. And let me tell you first: fur farms are some sort of dystopian evil shit you think would belong in a George Orwell story or a Matt Miner comic, but they’re all around us. Every day animals are tortured as badly, if not worse than some of the world’s most nefarious prisons (Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, The Gulag… you get the picture). Later on in issue #2, you’ll bear witness to the atrocities committed on these farms as Miner and Aranda pull no punches in their graphic depictions. As Damon makes his way into the fur farm, a twig snaps and he realizes he isn’t alone. But don’t worry: this isn’t a heavy-handed police state arrest of an unarmed activist. Rather, Damon’s found himself a like-minded accomplice who has been eyeing the same fur farm as him. I bet you can guess who it is if you’ve read issue #1, but if not, you’ll just have to read it and find out!

Dont miss out, pre-order your copy NOW!
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Posted on July 31st, 2013
Category: 50 SHADES OF BLOOD AND VISCERA, REVIEWS
Tags: Comic Reviews, James M. Clark, Javier Sanchez Aranda, Joaquin Pereyra, Liberator #2, Liberator #2 Review, Matt Miner