The pacing in issue two of Steve Niles’ three-part World War II adventure “Breath of Bones” causes this rumbling feeling in your stomach. One that makes you think something magical is just about to happen.
But it doesn’t. Slow your tanks down though. This issue ends up becoming enjoyable for a completely different reason.
Instead of the all-out war that appears imminent after issue one, more surreal events that pave the way for what could be a killer series finale are presented. In 24 pages, the already mature Noah continues to grow wisdom through experience at an almost abnormal rate. It doesn’t make this issue particularly action-packed, but it makes Noah an even more believable and legitimate character.
Noah’s journey is an emotional and harrowing one. It’s a tale that no one should be forced to live through on their own. If you’ve read any non-fiction WWII books the likes of “Night,” or heard accounts of people who become prisoners of war, you know that this story proves accurate, in spite of the comic book elements. The Nazis were dangerous and during their reign of terror people lost loved ones at an almost rapid-fire pace.
Unlike this story, there are no magical creatures to save them. But in the end, maybe thats Niles’ point. Perhaps The courage of Noah and his community are the ones who possess the superhuman ability.
While the adventure has its redeeming qualities, this issue won’t mean a thing unless the series finale is able to deliver the goods. Although it’s not a throwaway issue and builds the emotional tension and is supported by fantastic art by Dave Wachter, it fails to provide any real memorable moments on the pages.
The intellectual and metaphorical walk it takes you on however is a story within itself.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
The pacing in issue two of Steve Niles’ three-part World War II adventure “Breath of Bones” causes this rumbling feeling in your stomach. One that makes you think something magical is just about to happen.
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