Writer: Shuizhu and Greg Pak

Art: Ario Anindito, Gunji, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC’s Travis Lanham

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 14th, 2019

As Lin Lie opens the mysterious package from his father, mass chaos ensues. Plus, part 2 of Lin’s master class with Shang-Chi!

This issue opens immediately after the first one ends, with Lin Lie receiving a package from his father. The delivery man looks like Gollum in a delivery man’s clothes. Perhaps like Gollum, he’s more than he seems? He proceeds to open the box and immediately knows from the contents that it’s from his dad. Mass chaos ensues for SEVERAL drawn out pages as a fight ensues between Lin Lie and the so-called delivery man. Lin bumps into the sword his dad gave him which cuts his arm and we have even more craziness.

Meanwhile, a mysterious woman with a drone makes her first appearance, albeit a smashing one. To be continued….

Part Two: Lin and Shang-Chi ponder what their next move should be in finding Lin’s dad. Shang-Chi shares some honest feelings about the sword, and suddenly they’re on the run, being chased by some sort of giants. Shang-Chi wants Lin Lie to run. He doesn’t, and I’m sure he immediately regrets it, as he comes face to face with a Greek God.

After this second issue, we’re literally no closer to having any answers from the questions raised in the first issue. Not that this is all bad, but now we have even more questions.

I’m also a bit concerned that we have Shang-Chi promoted on top of the cover. It’s almost like this book hasn’t decided what it’s going to be. Is Shang-Chi there just to help set up a Lin Lie solo book and to initially boost sales, or is this going to be a team-up book? I’m sure all my questions will be answered in due time. The second story with Shang-Chi seems to be going down the treasure hunt route, and I’m fine with that if executed properly. Both stories in this issue are pure setup and that’s ok with me. I’m patient.

The art is fabulous in both stories. Gunji and Ario Anindito do a great job of drawing things or people in “motion” and it works really well.

Also a huge shout out to Travis Lanham. After reading some other books that I literally can’t read because of the color and font of the lettering, it’s a visual treat to read very nicely lettered text. I now actively seek out books he works on.

Final Thoughts:

Issue two of Sword Master continues to build on the previous issue while throwing in a few BIG surprises. A solid start to an ongoing series. Looking forward to issue 3!