Much as I loved the first issue of Love Fights, I think the second one is actually better. Not just because a lot of the setup is out of the way and now Watson can focus more on the characters and conflicts, and not just because there are some really fun moments here, but also because it's clear after reading the second issue just how much potential there is in this book. Watson introduces several potential stories in this issue alone, from the ongoing budding romance between Nora and Jack to strife within the workplace to the more bizarre side-effects of living in a super-hero city, and it's all illustrated with his minimalist style that I've come to love so much.
Watson picks up exactly where he left off in the last issue, and the payoff is beautiful. It's going to read well in trade, where each chapter will segue nicely into the other, and it reads well in single issues as well, as Jack's voice sort of trails off in disappointment and brings the reader right back to the mindset of the previous issue. Watson follows up with a gag about super-heroes and why you shouldn't badmouth them behind their backs, which had me laughing out loud. And then follows up with more payoff on the Jack/Nora relationship. It's a beautifully executed opening sequence, capturing pretty much everything the book is meant to be about in microcosm.
Though I've since had a chance to reread Geisha and re-evaluate my take on Watson's work with fantasy elements (I like it better now), my interest has generally been in his real-life type stuff. Love Fights has a perfect blend of both, and this issue actually hits story points that lie more on the side of reality as well as those that lie strictly in the realm of fantasy. Specifically, the difficulties that both Jack and Nora are having at work, and the intercession of a job with the relationship the two are trying to start, is pretty real... and Jack's recovery of his cat turns out to have more than a little of the fantastic. Watson seems to have put a lot of thought into making sure that the fantastic comes off in a realistic way, though, with the marketing of Flamer being exactly the kind of thing you'd expect if super-heroes really existed.
I'm a fan of the writing, but I'm an absolute addict when it comes to Watson's artwork these days. His work on Love Fights encompasses everything I like about his style, a minimalist approach that nonetheless carries with it very expressive characters and detailed and believable settings. Relatively difficult emotions like simmering frustration or disappointment come through in the characters' faces or with cute, manga-esque touches like the dark rain cloud over Jack's head or the collage of imaginary images behind him in the opening sequences. And the city really comes to life, in little details like the design of the book store or in shots like the one of Rossi's restaurant on fire, when we sort of get a sense of the city around it.
Love Fights is the perfect blend of romance comics and super-hero comics. I have a feeling that a lot more people would enjoy it than those who have sampled it. Fans of the super-hero genre who are open to something more than just fights and tights should definitely give this one a look.
