Image Comics reviews 9/30/26 – Geiger 25, Hammerfist 2
Hammerfist 2
The second issue of Hammerfist doesn’t answer many any questions, but opens up the mystery of what our hero who isn’t a hero, Mike, has gotten himself into this time.
After taking a quick bounty for a quick drug high, Mike got an offer he couldn’t refuse to help a couple make a bank heist. The payday was too massive for him to turn down despite his better instincts. Writer Rick Remender has a particularly skillful manner of getting inside the heads of his characters as they narrate the craziness surrounding them.
For Mike, it’s especially crazy as he makes off with a duffel bag containing something so important that the entire town wants to seize it from him. It doesn’t matter if Mike encounters a random person on the street or the town librarian, everyone wants what’s in the bag. Artist Steve Epting does a fantastic job of making this relentless chase all the more stressful fostering a credible sense of doubt that Mike will actually survive in a town where anyone can come after him.
Epting’s rugged, realistic art style is a natural fit for Hammerfist and colorist Matt Hollingsworth provides a strong blend of bold yet muted colors. Letterer Rus Wooton navigates the captions of Mike’s inner monologue with the intense conversations of people as they talk to Mike seemingly out of their right mind.
Hammerfist has an intriguing premise, and this cult-like town Mike has stumbled into is making this initial arc even more interesting.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10