Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly by Zander Cannon
Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous volume, and you may want to read the review for that one first.
After last season’s explosive ending, Electrogor and Green Humongo have managed to escape the title prison. Electrogor’s anxious to get to the cave where he left his children, but they need a place to hide until dark. Green has just the thing, the hangar where his brother Red Humongo lives.
Red’s not so keen on the idea. He’s become “compliant”, wearing a collar, working a construction job under human supervision, and generally trying to go straight. It’s not a good life, but hey, it’s not prison. Having a couple of escaped kaiju crashing at his pad is a violation of parole, plus honestly Green isn’t the nicest brother.
Meanwhile, Mechazon’s sister robot Chisato is now a rookie officer with Team G.R.E.A.T., tracking down rogue kaiju and preventing them from hurting people. Or at least, that’s the part of the job she likes. She’s not having the best luck with partners.
Back at Kaijumax, Warden Kang is attempting to rebuild after the explosion and a number of his guards dying or quitting. The last thing he needs is an inspection visit from his boss, Dr. Matsumoto. She’s of the opinion that even the brutal treatment the kaiju receive in this prison is too mild, and perhaps they should all be killed.
This volume continues the dark humor, social satire and soap opera elements of the story. In particular, Red Humongo’s situation is reminiscent of real-world ex-convicts trying to go straight in a society that isn’t much interested in giving outsiders a second (or even first) chance.
As the season continues, we see Cthulhuoid monsters as trailer trash (warning: abuse), and one of the human guards suffering from PTSD that’s making him a danger to others and himself. We also learn Dr. Matsumoto’s tragic backstory and why she’s so willing to kill monsters that don’t seem to be hurting anyone right now.
And Electrogor finally gets home, only to discover that things have drastically changed while he was in prison, and not for the better.
The art continues to impress with the varied character designs, and there are a variety of likable and hateable characters. Recommended to those who enjoyed the first volume.
