HAHA #2
Image Comics
Written by W. Maxwell Prince
Art by Zoe Thorogood
Colors by Chris O-Halloran
Letters by Good Old Neon
The new issue of HAHA finds a new story and a new tragic character in Rudy, a young girl who decides to leave home at the age of 12 to follow her mother to a place she calls Funland. Her mother has some obvious mental health issues, but Rudy believes she belongs with her mother and the two of them hit the road looking for Funland and adventure, but Rudy can’t escape the darkness she sees creeping on the edges of their time together. Darkness that will lead to tragedy.
As the two make their way across the country, Rudy sees what her mother has to do for money and one night an encounter with a violent John leads them to have to flee into the night. As more tragedy unfolds for Rudy, she and her mother are confronted by a dark truth and Rudy finds herself living an even darker life in the aftermath.
Prince lays out a dark, emotional story in this issue. Rudy’s desire to be with her mother and their trip consistently foreshadow the tragedy to come and the reader becomes engaged with the dark elements and emotion of the story and its characters. I really enjoyed this interesting and ultimately tragic journey as well as the emphasis on Rudy’s emotional journey.
Zoe Thorogood delivers some impressive and beautiful art throughout this issue. There is a brilliant quality to the imagery that belies the undercurrent of darkness in the story itself.