Faith and Animala have traveled to Hollywood to enlist the help of Dr. Mirage. Animala has been visited by the spirits of her friends that have died and she is seeking answers.

Faith: Dreamside #2
Written By: Jody Houser
Art By: MJ Kim
Published By: Valiant Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: 10/31/2018

Faith and Animala have traveled to Hollywood to enlist the help of Dr. Mirage. Animala has been visited by the spirits of her friends that have died and she is seeking answers. They meet up with Dr. Mirage after Mirage finishes up a TV appearance. After telling her what is going on Mirage agrees to help them. The spirits arrive and not all is right. I won’t go into anymore detail because I do not want to spoil anything.

With this second issue, Jody Houser has not only started to answer some of the questions raised in the first book but she has also started to world build. She has established that there are multiple kinds of “spirits” and they have all sorts of intentions. Some just want to be there for people while others have more nefarious purposes. Houser once again writes the character of Faith perfectly. Faith has been through a lot in her life as a superhero but her personality has always been the same and that is refreshing. The standout character in this issue is definitely Dr. Mirage. I just love how mysterious she is while also explaining things for people who do not understand what she does. It shows how Houser is able to embrace the “weird” and just run with it.

The art by MJ Kim is once again fantastic. Every character looks like they belong in this story and they all have unique looks. The panels that really stood out were the ones involving Animala and the spirits haunting her. They were so creepy and spooky. I’m am not a fan of horror, but this feels like horror done right. The panels are meant to put a small amount of fear in the reader without completely scaring them and I appreciate that.

The only negative that I could find with this book is that Mirage’s dead husband is shoehorned in. I know that he is a big part of the character of Dr. Mirage but for a newer reader it could take them out of the story. While I knew a bit about these characters, I can see how people would be confused. If this is someone’s first foray into the world of Valiant, people won’t know the backstory of Doctor Mirage and will need to go back to find out more. While I am all for exploring these characters more, for newer readers there should be a little more explanation of her dead husband.

This is a very solid second issue of this series and things are starting to heat up. I will continue to read this series because I want to find out what happens and I love the character of Faith.

3.75 Spirits out of 5.