Joyride Vol. 2 by Jackson Lanzing

Joyride Vol. 2 Reviews

• 
  Chad

  The look of the art always reminds me of Star Blazers, which is a great thing to emulate. Not as quite as fun as the previous volume. The characters start to open up about themselves and there are multiple reveals. Curious to see where this is headed after the end of this book.
• 
  Cale

  This was an improvement on the first volume, both in terms of the characters being more distinguishable and their adventures being more out-there. It throws character detail upon character detail to greatly expand some of the cast, and uses most of the pieces to build up to a fairly strong climax. It doesn't feel like Saga-light as much this volume, and definitely has its own voice. The art is pretty strong too.
• 
  anna

  rep: sapphic mcs, poc characters
  
  so this fucked me up................
  
  anyway i know there's literally a thousand more important things to say abt this but SPACE GIRLFRIENDS
• 
  Devann

  this one seemed a little bit slower in terms of plot and pacing so i wasn't really feeling it as much, but i'm so excited to what happens after that cliff hanger !!!
• 
  Mercedes McLean-Wheeler

  Things really picked up in volume two. Lots of interesting world building and character stuff. As others have said, it's like YA Saga, which, as an 8th grade teacher (who obviously can't bring in Saga), I'm all about. My big complaint about both volumes thus far is that they don't feel very meaty. It feels like they should be twice as long in order to move forward at a reasonable pace.
  
  Also, love the Star Trek vibes from the Regulators. Also also, getting some majorly amazing X-men-style-Phoenix-feels from the cliffhanger.
• 
  Trike

  Very lightweight YA sci-fi, but a pleasant enough diversion.
• 
  Sarah

  Self sacrifice is like crack to me! I could read it all day every day for the rest of my life and it still wouldn't be enough!
  This is now one of my all time favorite comics!
  SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!
• 
  Kay

  Maybe a 2.5 even.
  
  This was a little bit of an all over the place and choppy volume 2.
  Feels like it's suffering from being a bridge book/classic second book syndrome.
  
  I like the art, but the dialogue was wooden and everything was all over the place. It ended with a grand gesture sacrifice which felt a bit like a (story) letdown.
  
• 
  Aaron

  What a bummer.
  
  Or, maybe not?
  
  Hard to say.
  
  Maybe that's how it's supposed to be. Space adventure is seductive and dangerous. Friendship and romance are interlocking fractals of wayward emotion -- pirouetting unknowns worthy of both a chuckle and a thrill.
  
  JOYRIDE gives you a kiss, then it kicks you in the shins.
  
  Then, while you're hurt, confused, and uncertain, it gives you another kiss.
  
  Is it worth it?
  
  Always.
  
  But you can't keep it -- the camaraderie that prickles your fingertips; the desire that fills your heart; the excitement that tickles your spine -- you can't keep it because you have to earn it, constantly, unfailingly, and all in spite of a near-infinite pre-history of unending cosmos yelling at you to stop asking questions and just go with the flow already.
  
  JOYRIDE is a fun book. If only because it requires multiple reads for one to realize just how fun, intertwined, and head-scratchingly bemused its characters happen to be. Uma remains the reluctant-but-not-always-ready space captain, Catrin remains the muscle-who-is-more-than-muscle runaway princess, and Dewydd remains . . . the lovesick techie. Huh.
  
  The art is still top notch and the coloring is on a whole different level than before. How so? Well, whereas the first volume chronicled events occurring on a space stations and the occasional alien weirdness elsewhere, the comic book's second volume expanded the day's adventures to include localized gravity wells, the lovemaking of enormous mountain-planets, and the bowels of a ship so dark and fetid, it really takes one's breath away. Pretty cool. Weird. But cool.
  
  Altogether, this second volume turns inward. The crew stumbles about and is forced to ask some difficult questions about the value of prioritizing freedom and perseverance over the longings of revenge. The frog guy, Kolstak, ponders darker thoughts. Catrin, too, acknowledges she's susceptible to revenge. But as the crew stares down everything from an eighth-dimensional space whale (again) to an energy-carnivorous super-entity, it turns out the biggest threat to the team's survival is their own intransigence:
  
  Kolstak hums and glances to the billowing clouds overhead on a mysterious pink planet and says, "I didn't want this life. But I did need it. I worked hard as [fuck] to get here."
  
  Dewydd nearly kills himself, trying to unravel the intuition of a creature that's older than suns. Why tempt danger for knowledge? It's quite simple, really. "Understanding is my job," he says, willfully naive. "I have to know how [the ship] works."
  
  Catrin, too, has let her hair down, become humble. She likes having friends, she enjoys dancing, and who knew, she has a rather classy singing voice, too. But Catrin is a non-being, an abnormal -- considered "genetic heresy." And so, when Catrin asks Uma why the captain opted for a planet full of carefree partygoers instead of keying up an arsenal to wipe out the institutional buttheads whom made their lives miserable back home, she's serious: "[Why not] make it so the Cosanovas never existed?"
  
  Uma has her own concerns -- her own problems -- but she refuses to let her neuroses cloud her capacity to have fun, to explore the uncharted, to gaze in awe at the vastness of outer space . . . to fall in love.
  
  And that's the kick in the shins. JOYRIDE exposes the innermost flaws of its characters in suitably odd, sobering, and sometimes terrifying ways.
  
  Some flaws are easy to spot, sure. Others, not so much. Sometimes, as with Uma, a character's flaws are so deeply ingrained it's impossible to uproot them without damaging the surrounding ecosystem. That's what this volume of JOYRIDE is about: What happens when a character's only recourse, in keeping true to their self, and in earning that final kiss goodbye, is to reveal "there are no good options" available?
  
  Uprooting hurts.
  
  Always.
• 
  Adam Fisher

  The amazing series continues with just as much energy, plot, action, and emotion as the first Volume!
  
  The "Joyride" crew(Uma, Dewydd, Catrin, Kolstak, and Bot) has come across an uninhabited world. Heading down to the surface and finding it to be incredibly relaxing, three things happen: 1) Dewydd admits that he's in love with Uma; 2) Catrin sheds her disguise and accepts herself for the way she looks (scrubbing off her human flesh colored makeup, removing her hair color and her contacts, she turns very white hair and very white skin with red eyes, kind of like an albino) and 3) Kolstak begins reacting to the chemicals in the air, which turn out to be...
  ... pheromones! The land mass they are standing on is actually a massive flying creature in a field of other massive flying creatures because "the sky's going to make love to the ground!" LOL This revelation was hilarious.
  
  Dewydd begins to explore Ship and finds that their craft is the outer shell built around a "Supervoid", an ancient creature who ran away from his people. Kolstak starts to show possible treachery and runs into the 8th dimensional god monster from Volume 1. The "space whale" is so grateful for his rescue that he offers to grant a wish to Uma, who wishes for the largest party ever in the universe. LOL The party is going well until it gains the attention of the Galactic Regulators, a kind of galactic police force, who convince the "god monster" to go away.
  
  This is where things get complicated... Maerie (another Wanderer) shows up and informs them that Kolstak is bad news and stole a bomb from the Regulators and is going to use it to blow up the Supervoid being at the heart of Ship. Uma convinces the Supervoid to leave (leaving Kolstak stranded on a planet) and rejoin its people, but that still leaves a bomb on Ship. Uma, confessing her love for both Dewydd and Catrin, forces Bot to take them away, gathers control of Ship and explodes with it, dying. A series of images shows her falling and then glowing, which seems to indicate that she may be an extra-dimensional being now....
  
  Can't wait for Volume 3. BUT I just found out that Volume 3 is the end of the series... :(
  High recommend. You should be reading this.
• 
  J.

  Uma, Dewydd, Catrin, their alien companion Kolstak, and their ship/bot continue to explore space and look for adventure. Away from the pursuit of Earth forces and any immediate danger, the team must now confront the tensions within their own group as well as a possible threat that lurks aboard their very own ship.
  
  Dewydd finally confronts Uma with his feelings for her. Catrin continues to come into her own skin and shed the reservations from Earth society that had been holding her back. And Uma actually grows significantly as a character, which is really what I think made this volume shine.
  
  In the first set of episodes, Uma was this happy-go-lucky, consequences-be-damned, sort of character. She had her ideas about what she wanted to do and kind of selfishly dove into things, not really considering the people around her, just assuming they were there and supporting her. But in this set of episodes she has to confront the fact that her decisions and actions have repercussions. Much of this comes through her relationship with Dewydd, but decisions she made in Volume 1 also come back to haunt her. This all culminates with her finally making a very difficult and adult decision at the end of the fourth episode.
  
  Joyride was one of my favorite comics from last year, and Volume 2 has done a great job of raising the stakes in the story, continuing to develop some really great characters, and on top of all that still remaining undeniably fun.
• 
  Chelsea

  This volume is better than the first in that the characters are more well-rounded and there’s a semblance of a plot line, but it still seems to lack direction and focus. Since heroine Uma’s general mission is just to have fun in space, the story has no compelling narrative to drive it forward. There are only three volumes in total and they’re quick reads so it’s certainly not a burden to read the entire trilogy, but I don’t think I would keep up with it if it were longer. The artwork is pretty great so at least there’s that.
• 
  Garrett

  While it's true that the twists and turns somewhat spoiled the mood, they kind of spoiled it late in the game and in a wonderful, necessary way. This skates through the space that the runaway crew have seized for themselves and deposits us first in a wild intergalactic party and then into the depths of consequence, all while introducing dark and uncaring forces whose power dwarfs that of our erstwhile protagonists. Good stuff.
• 
  Rye Bread

  Continuing an excellent SciFi series. The main trio continue their adventure and we get to learn more about this setting.
  
  I enjoyed this story quite a bit. The art and coloring was fantastic. Story never seemed to lose itself or have any holes. You do need to read the prior volume to know whats going on, which isnt a bad thing since its worth reading. You could also stop reading at this volume and have a more or less complete story.
  
  But if you do, youre missing out on what comes next...
• 
  Lex

  Absolutely no joke I love this series. It's beautifully drawn and campy and weird and kind of emo. I loved the giant space whale genie and the first planet they landed on and Bot. The plot moves kind of fast and does a lot but I'm not even mad about it. The art and the characters are so well done and I love Catrin and her new/old look.
  
  I just want Uma and Catrin to kiss also lmao. I'm hoping that's where that lil confession before martyring is heading towards???
• 
  Danielle Booey

  I really liked volume 1 of this series, but volume 2 takes things so much deeper. Uma, Dewydd, Catrin, and Co are still in space having crazy adventures. This time they've go the Regulators after them, crazy spider creatures in their ship, and an all powerful 8th dimensional genie whale that wants to give Uma whatever she wishes.
  
  Lots to love here for anyone who likes space adventures!
• 
  Doctor Action

  I'm too old for this. Or it's not really good enough. I think probably both, disappointingly. Someone else said Saga-lite. That's not far off. But doesn't have any of that magic.
  
  Again, some cool ideas and great art, but the whole thing reeks of a loud teenager earnestly mouthing off about their feelings at length but with nothing to back it up. Yuck.
• 
  Matilda

  Na, tudtam én, hogy lesz itt más is, nem csak móka és kacagás. Szomorú is lettem, de pattanok a következő részre, hogy elmúljon. Derültek ki dolgok, és bonyolódik a helyzet. Oh, és úgy tudtam, hogy space lesbians lesz, annyira sokat vitatkoztak az első részben. :D Csak szegény Dewydd-ot sajnálom, mert barátság zónát kapott.
• 
  Sara

  So I’ll admit I threw this one into my reading lineup now because I want to be sure I meet my reading challenge for the year. That said, I’m really enjoying this series. Really fun space traveling peeps.
• 
  Kathy

  Thanks to ComiXology Unlimited, I’ve been able to big almost this whole series for free. I liked this volume more than the first one. Got to see some character development and really digging the colors in this.
• 
  Amy Lou

  Honestly, I was bored. I love the art style in this series, and the premise is really fun, but it's... just not funny. And it's banking on being funny. Couldn't bring myself to pick up the last volume.
• 
  Bill Coffin

  A bunch of runaways and rebels steal a spaceship and jaunt across the stars, but their obligation to overthrow the tyrannical government back on Earth is never quite forgotten. Not a bad story, but very much by the numbers and feels assembled from other, more interesting fare.
• 
  Iris Nevers

  I didn't cry, you cried.
• 
  s.

  This one was even better than the first. More development, fun space party, more fun background art of diverse aliens. Ended in a way that's going to make for an interesting volume 3
• 
  Illy

  I think this as far as I'm going to read of the series. The artwork is amazing, but the story, plot and dialogue is just so boring.
• 
  The Bookish Unicorn

  Definitely an improvement on the first volume, the characters and the story have found their footing and its awesome!
• 
  Nat

  Great fun even if it was slower build up to it.
• 
  Heidi

  Liked it better than vol 1