Joe Casey is writing the most frenetic comics being published these days. It appears that he's taking the "Marvel method" of storytelling to the extreme. Every issue runs at a breakneck pace and you can tell that the dialogue is being filled in after the art has been done. In fact, every indication is that Casey doesn’t even know what the characters are going to say until the pages come in for him to script. This is hardly a bad thing, though, and serves to make every panel on every page entertaining.

When we last left small time magician Chuck Amok, he’d been pulled into another world and his trusty rabbit, Caesar, had evolved into, well, a giant rabbit-man. He found himself under attack and generally confused, not realizing that he’d just been sucked into a world with real magic, and that he’s to face some of their most powerful sorcerers.

In this issue, Chuck learns a bit more about this strange world, checks into a hotel of sorts, visits the local market, does some drugs, and witnesses an attack by a giant, eyeless monster. Oh, and a giant sorceress shows up to take care of the monster and then threatens to squish our man and his rabbit. And it’s rounded off by a quick glimpse into the creative process of Joe Casey and Andy Suriano.

I’ll admit that I was on the fence about this book after the first issue, but there’s just something so infectious about the unmitigated joy that comes across in these pages. There’s a real sense that anything and everything could happen, which is something of a rarity in the world of comics these days. Andy Suriano’s artwork has also grown on me. After just two issues, I can’t imagine anyone else drawing this book.

With Godland coming to an end due to sales, here’s hoping that Charlatan’s Ball will be able to fill that void and that it’s lower price point (only $2.50!) will help it avoid the same fate.

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