Fantomex #2 picks up with our hero facing an ultimatum: Either do what the U.S. Department of Justice’s hand-picked team known as Grover Lane demands or they’ll kill Agent Flemyng. Even though Agent Flemyng has pursued Fantomex nonstop, he feels a sense of responsibility for her current situation because it was her failure in capturing him that lead to the department assigning a new team to capture him, and giving her his number made the team decide to take her hostage to get at him. However it’s not his fault that Grover Lane is filled with psychopaths who have their own agenda and want to use Fantomex’s particular skill set for their own ulterior motive. Fantomex is known as the “man who can steal anything” and Grover Lane wants him to steal an item that is key to their plans even though they have no idea where it’s located. It’s up to Fantomex to find. And they believe he’ll go through with it because they believe that he has a certain affinity for Agent Flemyng. Meanwhile Fantomex is somewhere deep in the ocean pursuing the item since he was able to locate it. It’s a precarious situation because it won’t be as easy as getting in and out as it was locating it.

I didn’t write a review for issue #1 but I did post an interview with Andrew Hope, the writer, and we touched on a few things about that first issue. And I think issue #2 capitalizes perfectly on what was laid out in the first issue and does so in a way that makes it more enjoyable than the first issue. Since the introductions are out of the way, although they were handled in a somewhat hurried fashion last issue, the story can take center stage and Grover Lane’s plans make for an interesting situation. It’s laid out in detail and the members of Grover Lane come off as villains who have more depth than just shock value with their actions. The artwork by Shawn Crystal captures the psychotic look very well. It’s not just Agent Flemyng that they’re holding hostage but “the only black dude here on base” in a genuine laugh out loud moment. There’s good humor here as well as action. We get to see Fantomex in some hairy situations and the interaction between him and Eva is a little more subdued, for better or worse. I wondered how the characters would evolve from the beginning of the series to the end, and the story arc is not only entertaining but very conducive to character development. Or at the very least, is making the justification for the characters’ actions clear. And for two characters who haven’t been in the same scene since early in the first episode, I find the relationship between Agent Flemyng and Fantomex somehow intriguing and that’s due to the excellent writing that shows their mindsets and shared predicament. I can’t wait to see what’s in store next in this series I’m enjoying a lot.