The Principles of Necromancy #2 [Review]

The unsettling Dr. Eyes is at it once again - having moved on from the barbarian horde, he makes his first “house call” at the behest of a young girl named Eloise McAllister. Her mother has long been afflicted with a disease that rendered her bedridden and unresponsive: that is until Dr. Eyes demonstrates his grotesque, yet effective, medical prowess and cures her handily within an hour. Eloise finds herself fascinated with learning more and becoming a Doctor herself.

The question is: is she prepared to numb herself to the horror that comes with it?

After a spectacular opening issue, writers Jackson Lanzing and Colin Kelly, alongside interior artist Eamon Winkle, had an important hurdle to clear: pulling readers in to further explore the world of The Principles of Necromancy. With this issue, I’d say they succeeded.

We get an understanding that the doctors of this world are largely apathetic and absent from society at large: young Eloise’s numerous attempts to secure one makes it clear that they don’t have a vested interest in the public’s health. While we have yet to meet the other doctors yet, we also begin to understand that Dr. Eyes, while eccentric in his own ways, is far from the only one conducting harrowing experiments and procedures.

Lanzing and Kelly’s writing help to establish more of Dr. Eyes’ methodology and worldview in this issue, while Winkle’s flexes his artistic ability in different ways from the haunting debut issue. There’s a scene where Dr. Eyes is walking Eloise through her first day as his assistant that really stood out, with a good sense of movement and scale in the two-page spread.

We also get a brief glimpse into Dr. Eyes dark past in the closing pages, and the seeds are sown for a potential future threat as well - all tying together into an excellent second issue that has me eager to meet the next character that is to cross the deranged doctor’s path.

If you haven’t been keeping up with this series, make sure to check your local comic shop and pick up a copy! It continues to be the most exciting title coming from the newly launched Magma Comix, and hopefully paves the way for equally exciting new series in the months and years to come.