Canto makes the difficult decision of sacrifice and we fall in love with him even more. Read Full Review

While not as hard-hitting as the first Canto, Canto II still sets up a very engaging, emotional, and meticulously crafted story, carrying on the fairy-tale trope from its predecessor. Canto II acts more of a transitional arc to set up for the final confrontation between Canto and the antagonists, and takes its time to further develop and permeate its ideas and goals. It is splendid to read. The Art by Zucker is again, fabulous. Capture the full essence that is European-styled fantasy. The pencils, the colors, the composition, everything from a visual standpoint easily puts Canto II or the Canto series in general as the best of recent years.

But what rounds out this arc is the themes, the ideas, and how Booher conveys those ideas in Canto. Ideas about tales, stories, heroic myths of the past, why we pass them down, and what these stories and folktale provide to us, the present. What justifies them being passed down to future generations. Themes of sacrifice, comradery, and most importantly hope, shine like daybreak in Canto II, and it makes the story such a wonderful experience. Canto II does not disappoint as the sequel, and sets up a grand finale that I am all too excited to read.

8/10 more