‘Feral’ #2 Review: Image Comics Keeps Scratching And It Feels Good

Feral cover 2
Feral #2 variant cover (2024), Image Comics. Written by Tony Fleecs. Art by Trish Forstner.

I am a week late, but still $3.99 short. No complaints, though! It was a meager price well spent on the second chapter in the miniseries from Image Comics that pays homage to a myriad of influences without skimping on the storytelling.

Screenshot 2024-Feral-IMAGE
Feral vol. 1 issue #2 variant cover from Image Comics. Written by Tony Fleecs. Art by Trish Forstner.

The journey continues for Elsie, Patch, and Lord (short for Lord Fluffy Britches) as they find their way home through the forest while also trying to survive a rabies outbreak infecting its inhabitants.

This outbreak turns the wooded creatures into savage man-eaters. There are people around and they are going to need some guns – big ones! But that’s another part of the story, and I’m trying to avoid spoilers.

Screenshot 2024-Feral-02 IMAGE
Rabid dogs and scaredy cats in Feral vol. 1 issue #2 (2024), Image Comics. Written by Tony Fleecs. Art by Trish Forstner and Tone Rodriguez.

The issue opens with the housecats observing a pack of “feral” wolves feasting on a fresh deer carcass, or at least until the young, foolish, and adorable Lord alerts them of their presence, and the chase begins.

But, fortunately, they are quickly saved by two wild tomcats named Scratch and Jonas. If you so much as flip through and grow attached to them, be warned, and don’t be disappointed if their path on this bloodthirsty journey only takes them so far.

Screenshot 2024-Feral-02 2.IMAGE
It’s the climb in Feral vol. 1 issue #2 (2024), Image Comics. Written by Tony Fleecs. Art by Trish Forstner and Tone Rodriguez.

Without giving too much away, the trio of kittens have for once found a guide through the unfamiliar terrain, and readers shouldn’t get too attached to one of the newcomers, but I won’t say who.

Feral #2 ends with the plot continuing to thicken, and the warning of greater danger for the terrified trio in the next issue.

This is the closest to an R-rated Disney cartoon that anyone will ever see. Terror blends into the heartwarming images, as though it was infecting it, and the pace moves so fast that the reader almost feels like they themselves are the ones being pursued.

Screenshot 2024-05-Feral2
Back off and bite down in Feral vol. 1 issue #2 (2024), Image Comics. Written by Tony Fleecs. Art by Trish Forstner and Tone Rodriguez.

It’s a quick read of all killer with no filler, and I can’t wait to get my claws on Feral #3 next month…and on time, promise!

NEXT: ‘Feral’ Review – “Cat Scratch Fever” From Image Comics

Mentioned In This Article:

More About: