So here we are, yet again, with another Tickling in Space comic from the fiendish mind of Bandito and the wondrous artistic skills of Ponce. At this point, we're, what, into the fifth release of this tandem in just over a year? In this scene, that's worth noting, not just because of how much quicker the turnarounds have been, but also because we can see in a short period of time just how much familiarity can work effectively in this medium. Too often, art teams change, or stories get thrown on a backburner for others. Thankfully, this isn't the case here, as the more Tickling in Space there is, the better it is for fans and people who might not have yet taken the plunge.
Blake's Revenge 2 is, obviously, the second part in a story arc that, well, who knows how long it's going to go. And, like the first, it's bite sized, probably for the aspect of quick turnaround times. Already, this series looks to be pretty ambitious within the medium, especially considering that time can be a factor in wanting to see things come to pass, as well as being a factor in the audience forgetting what is going on. It's hard thinking it's been two months, and geez, it makes me feel like Dusty's been in the clutches of Blake that entire time. Scary prospect. It's thrilling, though, as the seeds planted in the first are already starting to bare fruit.
If someone is on the fence, or they see “six pages, what the hell, that's so short,” it is. But not like you may think. It's not like you're getting cheated out of an all you can eat buffet; it's like you're waiting in anticipation for what happens next, for where it goes next. The actual meat of the comic feels longer than those initial six pages, because frankly, there isn't a wasted panel. That's not smoke up the ass; every panel in this comic serves a storytelling purpose as well as gives the audience the action it craves. We see what happens to some of the Danneskold crew as it is split up around the Atocha Mare, with Koki, Polly, Pookie, and Silki sent away to the depths of planetary Hell by Blake and one of her assassin cohorts (a Spadran who isn't named explicitly, but man, I loved how she looked. The dark eyes. That get up. I wasn't a huge fan of them in the past, but I really dug her). Blake's still got Dusty in an unwinnable, inescapable situation, and is exploiting it to the fullest extent with promising to tickle her to death, promising to do it nice and slow so she can glower over the captive captain about how thorough her conquest truly is. This serves as the narrative underpinning the comic, and the sadism it showcases with Blake is erotic, but also makes your skin crawl.
The cover shows us who the target is, and our favorite little robotech, Jessie, is the unfortunate one. The ler is a Thompson Android named Glitch, who seems like every bit an inverse of Thompson, and given their run ins, essentially means that Glitch is the perfect candidate to wreck poor Jessie. And holy shit, does see. Suspension bondage. A little knife point. Casual stripping away her clothes. It's bad enough Jessie's figure has to fight gravity; when Glitch breaks out the portable bot cleaner to...uh...clean Jessie? It's vile. It's cruel. It's absolutely awesome fantasy fodder. All those sudsy bristles, hitting her armpits, sides, breasts, nipples, between her legs? It's bad. It's real bad. If you picked up Ship of Thieves and dug the pinup of Jessie trapped in the cleaner? This is that, on steroids.
It's a lot to get across, but it all unfolds well. The pacing never gives up. There's always action just around the corner. It's frenetic and it's well crafted. The fact that the crew is caught so offguard, that they are basically pumped full of krandaloozian phermones to make them not only insanely sensitive, but also wildly aroused just gets me. It's bad enough to have these assassins in play and essentially destroying the crew piece by piece, but the added betrayal from forces they've been breathing in for weeks? That makes the tickling scenes all the more desperate.
Ponce's art is fucking amazing. Having looked back at Android Dilemma rather recently, I have to say, shit, this is some of the most crisp and vibrant art I've seen. Like through and through. The lines. The expressions of the characters. Jessie's eyes when she has the blade to her neck were so striking to me. The subtle smirks, the gloat of Blake lording over Dusty? The panicked looks in the faces of Dusty as she looks down her body as Blake threatens to pick her chastity coin with her nail? Ponce has always had the anatomy down, but you can see how real these characters are by just how well he draws facials and reactions. I don't know if he has this fetish, I doubt he does, but holy fuck, one of the biggest things is getting this aspect down in artwork, and he's gotten it down in spades. I could go on and on about just how stark and awesome and expressive his characters are, especially as a huge fan over the years, but that's kinda redundant because it's just purely astonishing to me. It's really high level and professional, something you can't say about every person who publishes. There's layers of details. Everything pops so damn well. Duarte's colors kill as well. Another thing that really popped in this comic? The lettering. Rostokfx, I dunno if he's new or I just hadn't noticed in the past, but damn son, the actual pop to the letters and the kinds of layered emphasis is reminds me of a comic book I should be getting off a shelf. Truly awesome stuff from the entire crew there, as you can tell there is a real rhythm to what they do and it is getting better and better every time out.
Oh, and before I move on too much, BR2 continues the trend of absolutely breathtaking covers for this series. Holy shit, the scene it paints, the dread, the tone, it's gorgeous and stokes the fire just looking at it.
I don't know what it is, maybe it's the water, but 2014 might be the best year of MTJ comic releases bell to bell that I can remember, and it's no shock that Tickling in Space has been so active in this year. Seriously. For what was supposed to be a fun thing kept private years and years ago, this series is really coming into its own this year, and Bandito deserves a piss ton of the credit. I love this universe. There isn't anything like it in this genre, and hell, maybe it is its own at this point. The development, the stories being told, and the frenetic energy being pulled in? It's a total team effort. Personally, this is essential. Must buy. Not just because of the series, but as a stand alone comic, you're not going to find something better on the market, especially at that price. If you love tickling art, if you love a kick ass story, this is a wonderful purchase.
And...there's four other characters to go? Jesus. Hope to see the next one very soon. This comic is the absolute shit.
