Reviews

Excellence, Volume 2 by Brandon Thomas

year23's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

destdest's review

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adventurous emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

"History is written by the victors [...] They changed our stories to protect themselves, so in time... we would never know that it had been any different."

Back with volume 2! It's been a while since I read the first one, but I still remembered enough though I had a rocky ride. Despite the smallest of recaps, I still felt confused with what was going on, Spencer's splitting his consciousness(es), and future sight.

The artwork is still excellent. Volume two tries to include more social commentary on the state of injustice and the powers that be trying to enforce the status quo for Black people. Some of the commentaries were very on the nose while some were subtle. I honestly hate to make comparisons, but a similar series like Quincredible weaves social and racial commentary seamlessly well. I think with more time Excellence can improve in this area.

There are great ideas, futuristic magic themes, and snazzy art, but it suffers majorly from a discombobulated, unstructured story. Not saying you can't go Everything Everywhere All at Once, but in a written format it takes careful planning to not lose readers in the midst of the twists and turns. Volume 1 was better, so this was an unfortunate letdown. I will still look forward to volume 3. 

gabbyshriner's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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