Written by: Eve Ewing
Art by: Luciano Vecchio, Geoffo, Matt Milla, and VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 16, 2019

I didn’t like the first issue of Ironheart as much as a lot of people, but that in no way is a reflection on my love of Riri. I love her, but I thought she got a little lost among the techno jargon that Eve Ewing was pushing and by the end of the issue, I was a bit disappointed. However, the series goes on and each new issue is a new opportunity, right? So, how does Ewing and Riri fare in this one? Let’s find out…

The issue opens with a nice flashback to Riri’s high school days and as an underaged prodigy, we see that things weren’t always so easy. Luckily, she had a guardian angel in Daija Hamilton who helped her out and was…well, she was pretty awesome. After that really good opening, I was pretty pumped for the rest of the issue. Unfortunately, it felt a bit disjointed from here and really could have used a bit more focus…especially on Riri herself.

We continue in present-day Boston where Riri stops some robbers/shakedown guys in the neighborhood. Ewing seems to be stuck between what these guys really want to be as they are demanding the usual payments, but doing so with masks on. Of course, Riri shows up to save the day but it’s one of those “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” kind of saves as the thugs then start shooting up the whole neighborhood.

Afterward, it’s off to M.I.T to find more people rooting through her research and after two issues, this bit is already getting a little tiresome. That doesn’t last long as she sees a news repprt that her old friend, Daija is missing…so it’s back to Chicago.

A bit of an aside, it really felt as if we missed an issue when it comes to Natalie. She was the big cliffhanger of the first issue and now it is just business as usual. I really expected a little more story progression to set her up as the A.I. in this issue.

We continue the issue with Riri hanging with Xavier and her mother, looking into Daija’s disappearance and then chasing down some relay race phone snatchers. The setup and execution again feel like something is missing in the translation and thus feels forced. The issue ends with a namedrop of the Circle and Riri heading off to possibly find Daija who we see is still alive but being held against her will.

This issue has a bunch of problems. Eve Ewing’s story feels very unfocused and Riri just seems to be getting thrown around from scene to scene. I wish we would get more of a focus on Riri and Natalie to set up the stories going forward because what we get here storywise is a bit of a mess. I love Riri, but if this continues on like this, I will have to bow out.

I do love the art in this issue and Luciano Vecchio is why I am even giving the book more of a chance. Everything looks fantastic especially Riri herself…in and out of the suit.

Final Thoughts

This series is off to a slower start than I hoped and it really needs some focus. Eve Ewing has Riri jumping from scene to scene and a lot of times, it feels as if there was something missing in the process. I love Luciano Vecchio’s art, but I need more here to keep going forward.

5.8/10