Crowbound #2: Death Is The Beginning

Rose has died, but that is not the end of her story. A destined reunion with the ancient Scarecrow Queen gives the desperate mother a chance to save her daughter, but the cost may damn her soul for all of eternity.

Crowbound continues to do a solid job so fart of establishing the tone of its story. There are themes starting to be explored here of parental responsibility, destiny, government oversight, and death as a form of rebirth. That last theme is illustrated plainly in the Scarecrow Queen, an old god with a mysterious connection to Rose and the planet itself. The ramifications of Rose’s interaction with this entity have yet to be explored, but that will no doubt be a main plot going forward.

Jeff Lemire broadens the scope of the world he and Dustin Nguyen have created. A creature known as the “Eater” lies beyond the walls, but there is a question as to whether this creature exists or not. The prose is fairly dense with a few metaphors when Rose remembers her first encounter with the Queen. As for the queen herself, she’s fittingly enigmatic for an ancient deity and there is more to be discovered.

Dustin Nguyen’s signature paint-like style is a bit of an acquired taste if you want visuals a bit more detailed, but the art still works perfectly here for the tone of this story. Nguyen knows what Lemire is going for at this point. The Scarecrow Queen has all the detail, her appearance standing out against everything else. Like she was either carved out of an old tree or an old mountain.