My 35th book of the year is a graphic novel by one of my favorite comic book authors, Rick Remender. Wesley Craig and Lee Loughridge carry the art in volume 2, which continues the story of Marcus and his classmates at Kings Dominion for the Deadly Arts, A private school for the children of assassins, terrorists, and other high-powered criminals. In this volume we get a lot of Marcussen’s backstory and learn about the character of the main students he hangs around with.

Parts of this volume made me laugh out loud (especially the hung over burrito incident) and parts were deeply moving. Set in the 1980s this story resonates with many themes of pop culture that I grew up observing. There is a lot of violence in this book but also hints of at least the possibility for redemption. The book ends on quite an ominous note so I will certainly be coming back for volume three.