Fight Club 2 #3

Fight Club 2 #3
Released by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: July 22nd, 2105.
Written: Chuck Palahniuk
Art by: Cameron Stewart
Purchase From Amazon

Picking up where the first two issues left off, things are starting to get… complicated. We learn that Sebastian's son isn't dead at all, he's been kidnapped. We also learn that Tyler has been not only around but very active for much longer than anyone thought and that he very likely killed Sebastian's parents when he was a child. Marla is just... fucked up and together they've got to head out into the world to figure out what happened to their kid and why.

Sebastian shows up at a very familiar looking old house and when he's asked by the men on the porch why he's there, he says he's not, this place doesn't exist, he doesn't exist. Right answer. He's let in and told all about how men need a surrogate beyond their traditional father to help raise them - hence why they wind up latching onto military officers, preachers, coaches and characters like that. But these men are all 'pariahs.' Sebastian falls asleep as his host gets a phone call from Mr. Palahniuk. As he sleeps, Tyler talks to him - are they using the kid as bait to bring Sebastian back into their fold?

Cut to a scene where we see Moses leading his people away from slavery.

“Junior has two daddies.”

Sebastian learns about 'Operation Lethal Injection' - a plot in which sharp objects that are infected with something are being strategically placed around the city to thing the herd. Tyler is taken away in a helicopter to the airport where he boards a plane. He gives speech to a huge crowd while Sebastian lies on the floor unconscious. When he wakes he hears the other men talking about how they want to learn about themselves, how they want more than money. Project Mayhem gave him that. Fistfight therapy is more effective than the Bible. These young men see Sebastian as a dead man, his life is over he's told. They all continue to wait outside the house for Tyler to return and let them in.

And then he does.

This is a ridiculously subversive and anti-social comic book. It's thought provoking and it's dangerous. It makes you think bad thoughts. It makes you think about how much society has gotten wrong and it makes you think about what matters in life - is it love? Family? Your job? Or is it the rush? That element of danger that calls to you, that makes you want to do things that you know you shouldn't do. It makes for very compelling reading. Maybe Fight Club did need a sequel after all. Palahniuk certainly seems to be firing on all cylinders here and he's taking the story in some very unexpected but entirely appropriate directions. We've still got quite a few issues to go but this is building to something big, something drastic. There's an urgency to the writing here that translates beautifully to the funny book format and Cameron Stewart's artwork compliments things perfectly. When Sebastian shows up all bruised and beaten down on that porch, you feel it. The panels are interesting to look at, some unorthodox compositions and disregard for the untouchable tradition of word balloons pretty much forces you to look at this comic book differently than anything else on the racks right now. Dave Stewart's colors are top notch.

This is good stuff. Maybe Fight Club did need a sequel and we just didn't realize it until now.