Issue Two picks up exactly where we left off... with the masive expanse of Urkonn looming menacingly over Melaka's shoulder. She tries to bolt, but he grabs her forcefully, sending her sprawling over a table. He's strong, but she's the one with the ray gun, and I really need to find out what her weapon's called because "ray gun" sounds silly. But, on with the melee! Mel shoots Urkonn full of sizzling electricity, which should keep him down long enough for her to get away. Naturally, it does not. He lunges at her, sending them both crashing through the wall and plummeting onto a lower rooftop. At this point, Urkonn informs a rather doubtful Melaka that he is not trying to kill her. She is understandably hesitant to believe him...
Melaka: You attacked me.
Urkonn: You were fleeing. I tried to stop you.
Melaka: By pushing me through a wall?
Urkonn: You hurt me. I got angry.
Okay, fair enough, I suppose. She did kinda shoot the guy. But he was, after all, doing that whole "scary demon guy lurking her in her apartment" thing. But he's not there to kill her. Instead, Urkonn tells her...
"I was sent to train you. To prepare you for the coming battle. You are the chosen one, Melaka Fray. It is your destiny to lead humankind in the war against the vampires."
Melaka's answer: "What's a vampire?"
At which point the story obligingly shifts to a particularly nasty-looking vampire in the middle of a meal. He is approached by a gigangic vampire minion, who is bringing him a necklace. In point of fact, the same necklace Melaka took such pains to steal for Gunther last issue. The nasty-looking vampire, named Icarus, takes exception to Gigantic's comments about Icarus being cowed by their boss and offers Gigantic, who's easily a foot taller and wider than he is, a choice. They can fight, or Gigantic can bite off his own finger. Gigantic chooses the finger. Ew. If Icarus is that scary, I don't wanna meet the boss.
Meanwhile, back on the roof, Urkonn continues to tell Melaka about her destiny. Mel's not buying it, though. So as Merrick and Giles convinced Buffy, Urkonn mentions Melaka's dreams. "In your dreams, you know. In your dreams, you're someone else. A slave. A princess. A girl in school in a sunlit city. In every dream, you have great power. In every dream, you fight them."
A powerful and stirring evocation, except for the part where Melaka has no idea what he's talking about. She hasn't had the dreams. Possibly because since it's been two centuries since the last Slayer was called, Melaka doesn't have that same connection to the line that her predecessors did. She has always been strong and incredibly gifted, but she's never questioned those abilities. Urkonn thinks his demonic visage should help convince her, but a girl who works for a mutated fish guy isn't easy to rattle.
The next two pages are stunning, with a cityscape separating two concurrent conversations. Along the top of the page, Officer Erin talks to her partner, Broder. Erin insists she's still trying to look out for Melaka's best interests, but Broder suggests that constantly hounding the girl might not be the best way to convince her to clean up her act. But Erin is resolute... "She doesn't stop, she'll kill someone else. Maybe on purpose this time." And the sadness on her face is heartbreaking.
Along the bottom of the page, Loo obviously has a very different opinion of Melaka Fray...
Loo: She's a HERO! Mel's the slam hero of ever an' you don't even know. She could knock your head so it came off and she wouldn't sweat or nothing.
Boy 1: For really?
Boy 2: My dad says she's a pump on steroids, and she does whoring and stuff.
Loo: That's just 'cause your dad tried to make with her and got stomped.
Boy 1: Make what?
Loo: Mel can stomp anyone and she told me if I ever got problems she would take care of them by stomping.
Boy 1: What'd he wanna make?
Boy 2: Biscuits, dummy.
Loo: Plus and one time my folks couldn't 'ford my meds that I really need and Mel went away and found enough for six months and didn't charge mom nothing. Just free drinks at the tav 'fore she got kicked out for fighting.
Boy 1: Mel don't like biscuits?
Loo: Plus and also, mom says... she's a thief.
Boys: Coooool...
Back the apartment now, Urkonn still hasn't convinced Melaka. She insists the lurks are just a bunch of freaks she has no interest in bothering with, but Urkonn can tell she's afraid of them. Before he can press the issue further, however, a mechanical carrier pigeon arrives from Gunther with a job for Mel. Urkonn tries again to impress upon her the importance of her calling, but she still isn't having any of it... "I guess I'm flattered you want me for this slayer gig, but for your sake, I hope you gotta back-up plan." And she's off before she can hear Urkonn's cryptic answer...
Across town, Mel's perpetrating a slight museum heist. Damn, this girl is slick. Acrobatic entry, laser beams deflected, system hacked - she's on top of it all and has the stone sculpture in hand when the alarm goes off. She's not the one who set it off, but it's time to go. She sprints for the nearest exit and sees the problem at the end of the hallway. A guard, covered in blood, pulled the alarm but not before the lurk standing over him could rip his throat out. Once again, as the lurk turns towards her, Melaka freezes, and we get another glimpse of her flashback - a young Mel, her lip slashed and bleeding, screams for someone named Harth to run - and then she's jolted back to the museum as the lurk tackles her to the ground. She slams her elbow into his mouth, and he bites her. And starts sucking. And the full horror of what the lurks - the vampires - really are begins to dawn on Melaka.
Her disgust and anger finally give her the strength to fight him off. She grabs him by the throat and throws him, and he lands in a twisted heap on top of a pile of metal and broken glass. But he's still moving. The police are on the way, and it's time to get the hell out of there. She wants to finish him off, but she doesn't know how to kill them. "Yet."
So she heads for home, finally ready to hear what Urkonn has to say...
Thoughts:
Issue Two closes, and any worries I had about it living up to the promise of the first issue are long gone. My adrenaline's pumping, and I can't wait to see what comes next. Urkonn will guide Melaka as she learns what it is to be the Slayer, but his ominous comment was pretty... well, ominous. Erin, still the hardass, seems to care for Mel, despite the pain of their shared history. I'm nervous about meeting a guy who could intimidate Icarus, and I want to know just what the vampires were doing with the necklace Melaka grabbed for Gunther. Mel herself is the perfect mix of tough, sassy, and vulnerable. Loo, of course, is cute as ever.
Only two issues in, and this is one of the best series I've ever read.