Noir #2

Although I enjoyed the first issue of this mini-series which centered as much around the unresolved relationship between the Black Sparrow and The Shadow I was a bit fearful in what the second issue's absence of Lamont Cranston might bring. I was right to be concerned.

Only appearing at the very end of last month's issue, Noir #2 focuses primarily on Miss Fury and the series of events that caused her to take on this quest for the missing Templar treasure.

Although the issue offers plenty of action with the two women kicking ass to get a hold of the one person who can answer their questions, the Black Sparrow is really playing second fiddle to the far less interesting Miss Fury (a poor man's Catwoman) this time around.

The mystery of the treasure doesn't get any clearer here and the focus so heavily on Miss Fury didn't help matters any. The second issue's rough art by Andrea Mutti also works against the sex appeal of the comic's pair of female leads. Hit-and-Miss.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]