The 2nd issue of Phoenix creatively highlights Jean’s struggles with being a cosmic defender that has to be on constant patrol protecting the defenseless against cosmic forces while also yearning for a bit of normalcy. It’s a great point of you to have as a reader and see that regardless of how powerful she may be that ultimately she is still a human. I appreciate Stephanie’s approach on this matter because it allows us to understand the intense inner pressure that Jean has to endure while being out in the galaxies alone being its latest protector. Then you throw in some family drama to the mix, something that as readers we can relate to. It allows us to relate to Jean on a human level which I appreciate. This issue albeit less action sequences than the 1st issue was a solid follow-up. The narration from the new character, Adani feels like Stephanie is setting up a deeper story rather than it just being the usual mindless cosmic being just being all too powerful displaying awesome power feats. This could potentially be a deep villain origins story for a potential threat to Phoenix. There’s a lot of potential with this series and I can honestly see it being an ongoing title in Marvel.
As for my gripes… there definitely is a bit of an inconsistency with the art. There’s no doubt that Miracolo has been influenced heavily by other well known artists and I find that he struggles to have his own artistic identity. He isn’t a horrible artist but the art, personally, seems to suffer because of that and it can be a bit distracting. I don’t mind Adani and getting to know her backstory as the story progresses BUT I do hope that her narration does not pass issue 5. It is a Jean solo book after all and having more in depth insight into her thoughts would definitely enhance the series. more