All these superheroes with sad back stories are stuck on a farm in northern Canada: Abraham Slam, Colonel Randall Weird, Talky-Walky, Barbalien, Golden Gail, Madame Dragonfly. I liked the first volume set up, trusting a story would emerge, and it sort of begins to. It almost feels autobiographical to me, in a way. It’s both a tribute to Golden Age comics for the geeky True Supe Fans, and an explanation to his Essex County fans about why these worlds belong together. Lemire seems increasingly to bring together two things he loves: 1) Realistic, character-driven stories based in the bleak and desolate northern Canadian towns he knows well, and 2) superheroes. One of the best ongoing comic series, winner of the 2017 Eisner award for best ongoing series, based in part on the trust they had that this team would create a great story. I'll be sad to see the series end in the next volume, if that's what happens. The slow burning mystery of what the hell is the deal with the Farm and Rockwood has me hooked. I really don't have any bad things to say about The Black Hammer. Dean Ormstrom's moody, Mignola-esque art is perfect for the series. The mystery surrounding Rockwood and the Farm is tantalizing and I'm ready to find out just what the hell is going on. The world of the Black Hammer feels like it's been around for decades. I love the depth Lemire has achieved in such a short number of issues.

Yeah, a lot of shit went down in this volume and it has me salivating for the next one. What the hell are Madam Dragonfly and Colonel Weird up to? Lucy unravels the mystery of Rockwood and meets her destiny.

More of Abraham Slam and Barbalien's pasts are also revealed. More of Golden Gail's past is reveals, as it the nature of the Event that led to the heroes arriving at The Farm to begin with. Talky-Walky's origin is also revealed, another Mystery in Space type of adventure, just as something sinister happens to Talky-Walky back on the farm. The tale of the Black Hammer is finally told and it's an homage to a slew of Jack Kirby creations like Thor, the New Gods, and the Inhumans. Lucy Weber, The Black Hammer's daughter, starts trying to piece together the mystery of The Farm and the town of Rockwood but someone doesn't want her to find the answers she's looking for.īlack Hammer volume 2 has fallen into my hands and it's a whopper.

Black Hammer, Vol. 2 by Jeff Lemire