Kevin Shinick’s romp through Roderick Kingsley’s new found goodness continues and whilst it loses its way slightly in the second issue, Axis: Hobgoblin #2 continues with the smart self-referential satire whilst sets up the final conflict between Roderick Kingsley and Phil Ulrich for the final issue.
First of all I just want to say how smart it is in a miniseries about a traditional villain ‘breaking good’ to have the final page surprise reveal being one of Roderick’s hero recruits ‘breaking bad’ and turning on
him. Whilst Missile Mate was the obvious choice considering that he wanted to be a villain in the first issue, his about-turn gives The Goblin King all of the ammunition he needs to take down Hobgoblin.
The revelation that Lily Hollister is now a superhero working for Kingsley under the name Queen Cat was also nicely timed. Although it’s unclear what a thoroughly ‘good’ Roderick Kingsley wants with Lily Hollister unless he’s deliberately trying to rub her in Ulrich’s face, which isn’t so much of a nice thing to do.
As for the self-referential satire that was extremely evident in the first issue, there’s more of the same in Axis: Hobgoblin #2, with not one, but two faux-adverts featuring Hobgoblin riffing on the public service announcement one-page panels and also the popular Spider-Man Hostess adverts.
On top of that there’s a ton of fun moments with characters throughout the issue, such as the panel with the captive children caught between a smiling Hobgoblin and a menacing Goblin King only to end up crying, or the police officer wryly chuckling to himself “I wonder what crazy adventures he’ll get up to next.”
The highlight however is when the newly crowned Leather Boy with removable ball-gag prevents Phil Ulrich’s sonic scream with a sex-toy that seems more the more hilarious in the post-50 Shades of Grey fallout. It’s not often you get to see a superhero using S & M gear in a battle with a villain but that’s just
the kind of crazy stuff that Shinick is getting away with.
The issue with Axis: Hobgoblin is that the humour and wit is overpowering. Any semblance or drama that could be had from Phil Ulrich and Roderick Kingsley battling in the warehouse is erased by Kingsley trying to pass-off his book and business card. Any drama that would be there when Ulrich realises that Lily Hollister is now Queen Cat is removed by a plethora of ridiculous D-list superheroes like Water Wizard and the aforementioned Leather Boy.
Axis: Hobgoblin is still a fun miniseries but Phil Ulrich’s growing frustration at Roderick Kingsley’s inability to take anything seriously are engaging pathos for the reader who will have started to feel the same frustrations by the time that 8-Ball and Killer Shrike turn up at the end of the issue. Still there’s one issue left and its definitely worth getting for the humour if nothing else!
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