Consider me surprised! The first issue of “Flashpoint Lois Lane and the Resistance” toyed with some good ideas but overall was a muddled mess. In fact I had no interest in continuing this tie-in series. It wasn’t until I saw Eddie Nunez’s cool cover featuring Grifter that I decided to give it another chance. I’m really glad I did. Talk about a huge shift in quality.

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning tried to set things up in issue #1 but the result was a rushed and disjointed story that didn’t feel as important as it could have been. In issue #2 Lois Lane plays more of a supporting role as the Resistance take center stage. It’s kind of strange considering the book’s title but it’s hard to argue with the results. While Abnett and Lanning’s issue still feels like an introduction of sorts, it’s head and shoulders above the previous book. This time they keep everything within a more confined time frame which really helps develop the characters. I also liked how they were able to introduce and expand on this wacky band of resistance fighters all during one frantic encounter with a group of Amazons. It’s a solid mix of action and dialogue that made these characters fun and interesting. I still wish Lois had a more prominent role but I can’t really gripe considering the fun I had with this issue.

While Eddie Nunez’s cover is fantastic, his art in the first book wasn’t that impressive. In this issue, Gianluca Gugliotta takes over and gives the book crisper more appealing look. Many of his panels could be called crowded or busy but not in a bad way. In fact, while he does incorporate a touch of style in his art, the action sequences have a certain old school feel to them. His Grifter is fantastic and his attention to detail impressed me. The one glaring issue I had was with his character’s faces, more specifically Lois and the Amazons. Pretty much throughout the issue, the characters have a peculiar, wide-eyed look to them. While this may be a stylistic choice of Gugliotta’s, it was a bit distracting.

I’m not someone who knows a lot about Grifter but I’ve always thought he looked like an interesting character. This issue gave me a taste of him and has me ready for his new September series. Abnett and Lanning really deliver stronger work here and Gugliotta’s art is a nice compliment. It’s not a perfect book but it’s so much better than the previous issue. More importantly, it’s a lot of fun.