Stillwater Vol. 2: Always Loyal
Chip Zdarsky, creator/writer; Ramón Pérez, creator/artist; Mike Spicer, colorist
Image Comics, 2022
The previous volume ended in chaos and confusion, the town courthouse blown up in a coup attempt. Ted's Marine buddy Kreegs and his crew move in and take over. Daniel and Laura were part of the rebellion, but after the debacle they decide to run (just as mystified by the explosion as everyone else, but sure they will be blamed for it anyway). The Marines spread out to contain the rebels, and they get caught up in it. Daniel gets help from an unexpected source: one of the Stillwater children. Turns out that the children have been planning their own coup for a long time, hoping for a chance to grow up. Flashbacks show them working on it from the time Daniel arrived, staging events for his benefit. Things are a little different with Galen (the head child) and the militia in charge in place of the Judge--but not by much. There are also several flashbacks that reveal the backdrop to the structure of the town: how the sheriff does the job, as well as the judge. Laura takes an infant out of town, the child most in need of a "normal" maturation process. When Laura returns to town for her son, there is the possibility of an effective rebellion, which comes to a truly surprising conclusion. She saves her son in an unexpected way, which may have remarkable repercussions. I have to say that Pérez's art seemed far more sketchy and minimal than I remembered, but it does the job.
Replies
I'm enjoying this book a lot... but I think I need to reread the series up till now to get some momentum on it again, before the next issues start coming out. And yeah, the way Daniel was saved was extremely unexpected!