Unbeatable Volume 2 – Review

By: Matthias Wolf (writer), Carlos E. Gomez (artist), Teodoro Gonzalez, Bob Pedroza, Shipeng Lee, Simon Bork (colorists)

The Story: So basically Hell is a fire-stormed, wretched pit of beast-ridden filth and death—that doesn’t mean it can’t have some perks.

The Review: The last volume of Unbeatable set up a storyline that was young and exuberant, but lacked much in the way of content.  In fact, it didn’t even seem as if Wolf had a very firm grasp on what kind of story he wanted, as it essentially went from a psycho-thriller to a dark fantasy on the turn of a dime.  Such changes aren’t necessarily deal-breakers—stories are meant to evolve—but they depend on the writer’s adaptability and execution to succeed.

Wolf certainly has no problems in the flexibility department; having gone for this Norse myth spin, he has pretty much stayed true to leading Dale on this more spiritual-cosmic path.  But it becomes painfully clear reading through the volume that committed as Wolf is to this premise, he’s not sure what he wants to do with it.

Now that Dale’s an immortal guard (whose very nature makes him “unbeatable”) it takes quite an effort to pose a challenge for him.  Loki shooting him, thereby sending him to Hell, seems like a ploy to put Dale someplace where he can actually struggle, but you don’t get the sense there’s any real reason he’s there.  In an entire volume of material, not once do you get a hint of what Loki’s up to—nor do you see him again, actually—so the whole deal just seems random.

In fact, almost everything feels like Wolf throwing ideas into the soup to see if he’ll wind up with something substantial.  You have Dale’s nine buxom, clearly non-elderly, assassin grandmothers, who show up in Hell just to tell him to seek out the shape-shifting Lizard King (a figure whose allure and vagueness rivals Alias’ Mueller device) for help escaping, only he and Thor decide to booze it up at a demonic bar/fight club for months instead.

None of these elements link together coherently, so the pace just drags and the whole volume wanders aimlessly, leaving Dale and Thor’s interaction to carry the story’s interest—not a good idea as their conversations are nothing short of constantly juvenile and downright ridiculous.  Thor as a mashup between Kid Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin is fun at first, but just like with any drunk frat boy, you quickly tire of his antics.

Wolf seems to be trying too hard to create some kind of character piece on overcoming pain, but a mindless, action-laden plot doesn’t seem the best medium for that.  Dale’s emergence from the Shores of the Skeletons has all the imagery of a character who’s bettered himself, but it feels unearned, considering how angsty and self-inflicted his internal conflicts are.

The one genuinely major improvement lies with Gomez’s art, which drops the cartoony look of the last volume for a more Image-like slickness.  His figures are more credibly proportioned; his lines are stronger; he gives more details to his settings—it really helps to take the story, such as it is, more seriously.

Conclusion: Despite big jumps in artwork, this series offers a directionless story, weak mythological adaptations, little character work, and repetitive action—not recommended.

Grade: C-

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: – I find it hilarious that Thor’s teeth constantly glow—nothing else, just his teeth.

– Thor’s riffing reference to his Marvel counterpart are kind of funny, but seem mostly tacky.