Jook Joint's second issue is a gorgeous, haunting piece of artwork that displays some horrifying truth and some terrifying fiction. The storytelling and artwork beautifully create what may be the most thrilling and unique issue of the week. This second issue affirms that this series will most likely go on to become a classic that will be admired for a long time. Read Full Review

Jook Joint #2 continues to move to the right beat and is a must read for all. Tee Franklin has something special on her hands and is not to be missed. She has a great creative team with her for this unique story, and people should be reading it. I've been a fan of Tee Franklin on Twitter for years, and it's nice to see that others are finally realizing the talent she has. Read Full Review

The details about Mahalias story are slowly being revealed, but there are still mysteries to be explained about her character. Heloises story is also far from over. She has a lot of choices to be made, and, no matter what she choses, there will be consequences to explore. Hopefully the series will continue to handle the dark and intense themes with the same care and feeling. Read Full Review

Jook Joint #2 continues to build on the momentum from the first issue as Tee Franklin builds on the storyline. Alitha Martinez's art continues to set the atmosphere of the issue, dark and vengeful, but also feminine and comforting. Read Full Review

Tee Franklin does a great job of telling a story that is layered both in its plotting, but also in its characters. Read Full Review

A good second issue that continues to reveal more about Mahalia and her fascinating coven while also delivering a message that will ring true with many. Read Full Review

"Jook Joint" #2 has a strong premise, but some craft issues keep it from really shining past the social significance of its subject matter. Read Full Review

I enjoyed Jook Joint #1 and was pretty eager to jump back in to see where the story was going despite some reservations. We get some revelations regarding the women of the night spot. They are undead sirens brought back to life by Mahalia after being murdered by men who had wronged them in life. 

The last issue ended on a cliffhanger as Heloise contemplated having her husband murdered. Instead of being killed, he is captured by Mahalia, The madame of the Jook Joint. Her goal is to empower Heloise with the strength to kill him herself. 

Heloise offers to make other men suffer but doesn't have the resolve to kill her husband. After her daughter questions her about her father's disappearance Heloise begs Mahalia to set him free. She doesn't want to lie to her daughter anymore. 

Mahalia responds to her pleas by showing her a vision of the future in which she is dead at the feet of the man that is abusing her.

I had a really hard time writing this review. I want to love the story and in a sense I do. It's really different and brave. I do have some reservations despite the high praise I'm about to give. 

It would be really easy for Mahalia to ride in and solve all of Heloise's immediate problems by getting rid of her husband but it wouldn't really empower her or solve the underlying problem.  More than likely the next guy would do the same thing or worse. Heloise is weak plain and simple.

Its very easy to be the hero passing judgement on others but it's another thing in having the strength of your convictions. There is a scene in this issue where men are being brutalized but Mahalia won't allow Heloise to participate saying she's not ready. I don't believe that Heloise is not ready to kill. She clearly is angry but she's selfish in that she isn't ready to take on the same loss that she's willing to inflict upon others. For that theme, I can't praise this issue enough. 

My gripes are technical in nature. The premise is excellent but some of the writing for this issue is choppy especially for the men that fall victim in this issue. I'm not expecting much from these guys, they are clearly assholes and don't deserve sympathy. 

My concern is that when every man outside of the establishment is portrayed as a one-dimensional asshole it becomes a farce and takes away from the overarching message of the narrative. This is also an issue I took with Bordertown, another series with a heavy social justice message. It's not as bad as that series but it's in there.

I also didn't quite understand the point of the sex and nudity. It really jumps this time around. Maybe not pointless but totally unnecessary to the progression of the story. 

The art direction seems to be more consistent this time around. The gripes I had about detail and not being able to make out certain scenes are all but gone. Despite the hiccups, the overall plot is fine and if tightened up slightly could make for an amazing overall series. I have faith we'll get there. 

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Once again this suffers from a lack of subtlety that I think is endemic to a lot of writing now and not necessarily the fault of this writer in particular. A cool idea, for sure.