The Stranger Concocts An Unorthodox Plan In The Last Siege #2

The mysterious Stranger prepares the castle for war, while Feist and his men struggle to avoid the executioner’s axe. With little hope, and less time, the Stranger unveils his secret weapon.

In the opening chapter, a mysterious stranger liberated the castle from the cruel Lord Feist and his men. Now, in The Last Siege #2, the castle residents realize they have bigger fish to fry. Clapping Feist in irons and sending him homeward is only the beginning. Evicting the Usurper King’s men invites retaliation, and there are hardly enough men to withstand the despot’s army. Their “liberator” may just have cost everyone within the curtain wall their lives.

In the last chapter, we saw The Stranger is no slouch when it comes to hand-to-hand combat when he exhausted Feist’s men single-handedly. Now, we catch a glimpse of the man’s military background as he lays out his plans for defending the castle against seemingly insurmountable odds. Landry Q. Walker is laying out little bread crumbs without revealing too much about who this guy is and how exactly he turned up with regency over the castle.

Justin Greenwood delivers a particularly brutal scene in the woods, juxtaposed over a tense meeting within the castle war room. The two scenes arguably could have been delivered independently, but it plays. Eric Jones’ palette and some clever panel work by Greenwood keep the two storylines clear and separate.

Chapter two really plays up the spaghetti western vibe. There’s a definite Fistful of Dollars element playing out here. Or is it Yojimbo? Maybe that’s why the katana? Slick nod to Kurosawa? We’re still setting up for the first big pop, but this issue’s final reveal promises that pop is forthcoming.

 
The Last Siege #2, published by Image Comics, rated T+, released 04 July 2018. Written by Landry Q. Walker, artwork/cover by Justin Greenwood, color by Eric Jones, letters by Patrick Brosseau, variant cover by Gabriel Hardman.