As the titular Son of Samson continues in his second volume, the formula remains much the same. This time there is a single overarching plot, but though the story is developing certain aspects seem to have weakened.

The story continues to be told through unnecessary narration and the protagonist talking to himself. At least he isn’t breaking the fourth wall, I suppose. There’s no need to repeat objections concerning this, the overall premise, or art, so we’ll move along. Unfortunately, the humor in this volume is weaker.

Surprisingly, this volume has some decent action as Branen battles Abnar and Adar. Not martial arts choreography, but it had decent development and execution. Similarly, I was glad to see that they pulled off Delilah without being awkward or wasting a lot of time. Though I expected Saphira was going to be a rather flat character and wanted to be critical, I have to admit that it wasn’t handled all that badly. Better a complex person than exaggerated characterization and dramatic conversion.

In prison we also meet Tira, a new character and actually an interesting one. We can only hope that he wasn’t just a vehicle for a Samson story and will return with a bit more to do. His personality makes the jail scene one of the few entertaining ones. Unfortunately, the accompanying moment of repentance for Branen is as shallow as the rest of his spiritual issues. Readers are never given enough time to remain in his despair or any other feeling for his epiphany to be significant.

One pleasant surprise was some of the bonus content at the end of the volume. They even question the assumption of Samson as a hulk, which makes the series overall more self-aware. I think providing this kind of supplementary information is a good idea, as it might interest readers and this is certainly a better way of including it than forcing explanations into the narrative. Even the references to it would be unnecessary, if extra content at the end will become a regular feature of volumes.

Readers who enjoyed the first volume of Son of Samson should acquire the second and they will find things much the same. Anyone who disliked it or was on the fence will probably not be encouraged to pick up the series.