Hawaiian Dick is absolutely one of my favorite new books. Moore and Griffin delivered the goods on the first issue, and they don't slow down in the second. A little more magic and mystery, a creepy new bad guy (with a great visual), more hints about the pasts of the principal players and an interesting twist on the big revelation of the last issue makes for an exciting second issue. As always, the book looks beautiful, and Moore really brings the various characters to life with his dialogue.
The previous issue ended with a couple big surprises, the revelation of what was in the trunk and the appearance of the Night Marchers, the supernatural threat hinted at earlier in the issue. While Moore and Griffin don't have a cliffhanger quite as surprising for this second issue, there's plenty of mystery set up around the shocks we've already gotten, including a couple twists surrounding Leila Rose, the missing girlfriend of crimelord Bishop Masaki.
This issue also serves to introduce Masaki in person, and I'm impressed that he lives up to the reputation he developed in the first issue. This guy is one scary-looking and scary-acting mofo, with a touch of sliminess and a sense of always being in control and aware of what's going on. Masaki is like Marcellus Wallace's Hawaiian cousin, with just as much presence and intelligence, and I can feel how deep Byrd and Mo have gotten in with him. I was also quite taken with Madame Chan, although a silhouetted appearance earlier in the issue leads me to believe she may have a few more secrets to her as well.
Moore's story blends mysticism, tough-guy noir detective fiction and the mystique of the islands, so it's only appropriate that Griffin's artwork does the same. The bright and sometimes garish elements like Byrd's shirts, The Outrigger and Madame Chan's apartment contrasts nicely with the dark den and warehouse of Masaki, and I'm impressed that Griffin manages to convey the idea of pleasant tropical warmth with little touches like the open air nature of Byrd's house or warm colors in the outdoor scenes.
We've got one issue left in this initial mini-series, but I'm really holding out hope for a regular Hawaiian Dick series. There's nothing else like this out there, and I want more.
