With Darkhawk out of obscurity and headed into space, the writing duo of Chris Sims and Chad Bowers have taken it upon themselves to craft a truly bizarre take on some of Marvel’s cosmic tales, and thanks to the artwork by Gang Hyuk Lim, it is also truly awesome.

Having eventually resolved his fight with last issue’s special guest star, Death’s Head, Chris Powell has decided to play along with the ‘freelance peacekeeping agent’ and go as his not-quite-prisoner. After all, the Fraternity of Raptors are the ones who want the Darkhawk armor, and Chris wants to stop the Fraternity of Raptors. What could possibly go wrong?

Aside from being sucked out into space halfway through the issue, that is.

And it also turns out the Fraternity of Raptors are trying to resurrect their own version of the Phoenix, the Starhawk, for which they need Chris and the Darkhawk armor for unknown reasons.

This is another great issue, but one that spends a bit more time going through the setup. Readers get to know Death’s Head a little more, which is a real treat for his fans. It happens at the same time as a great character moment with Chris and his fiancé, Miri, playing for drama and comedy simultaneously, and making it work well. Chris continues to feel like a complete character, one who may have regrets about his teenaged crime fighting career. It really works well and brings a great human element to the fantastic space opera Darkhawk finds himself in.

As with last issue, Lim’s art is nothing short of incredible. The comic still has an aesthetically pleasing blend of Western and Eastern styles, which make the comic feel familiar while keeping the book dynamically interesting. The combat is fast and frantic, but easy to keep track of. Further, the design of the other Raptors and Starhawk look great. There is a neat star field effect across the Starhawk reminiscent of the Genis-Vell incarnation of Captain Marvel that just looks awesome.

In short, Darkhawk remains one of the better event tie-in books in recent memory, probably because it doesn’t heavily tie into the event, meaning almost anyone can pick it up and give it a read without getting too lost. If you don’t know who Chris Powell or Darkhawk are, pick up both issues released so far. You won’t be disappointed.

Grade: B+