Indie Spotlight Review - White Heat Comics #2

Stephen Reid and Co. are back with with White Heat Comic #2. But does it turn up the heat? 

The creative team behind White Heat Comics are back with the second instalment to last years sleeper hit anthology. Inspired by the mediums golden age, creator Stephen Reid brings plenty of thrills and spills that bring a modern twist to the classic era. Now heading into its second issue the gloves are off and it’s time to have some fun. With an increased page count (now 72-pages of thrills!), and a few new names appearing behind the scenes (some more familiar than others!), White Heat Comics is out to mean business! 

Kyla, The Goddess Who Walks The Earth: Vampires of the Golden City (Stephen Reid, Steven Ross) 

Kicking off this second issue is cover star Kyla, The Goddess Who Walks The Earth. For her second outing, Reid and Ross give us another self-contained story that continues to flesh out the high-tech fantasy world that Kyla resides in. With elements of the overarching narrative intersecting here and there, for the most it’s Kyla whopping vampire butt. 

Vampires of the Golden City is told via a status update by Ranger Scott to his superiors at the United Alien Nations. As one of the last remaining Humans on planet Earth it’s up to Scott to monitor the Aliens who now call Earth their home. With no clue as to how many alien species now inhabit the planet, there’s bound to be a few bad apples. It isn’t long before the local tribes start whispering about people going missing in the night, seemingly abducted by something called the Shadiri. With no one at the UAN to turn to, Scott asks Kyla for help. And so starts a journey to the Golden City, where Kyla will unearth more of her own past. 

While the opening chapter back in issue #1 portrayed Kyla as the planets apex predator, Vampires of the Golden City knocks the buxom blonde down a peg. Here we see that the winged-Shadiri are just as powerful as Kyla and aren’t afraid to get up close and personal in order to survive. Throughout there’s plenty of danger as Kyla and her ragtag group battle the elements and another enemy who’ll stay long in your memory…”hello dearie”. Even though this is Kyla’s story Reid gives plenty of time to the supporting cast. Ranger Scott makes for a good sidekick to Kyla, and an interesting viewpoint for the reader to delve into this incredible world. 

Steven Ross compliments Reid’s script with a great range of panel busting pages that pulls the reader right into the action. There’s also a good mix of full-page spreads which always goes down well with me. The best of these is definitely the Spyderant reveal which for any arachnophobe is a page of pure horror! 

Slumber Party (Shawn Gabborin, Stephen Reid) 

Slumber Party is a two-page comedy strip that plays upon many tropes and themes seen within slasher horror films. With escaped serial killer Todd Rellik on the loose, the local citizens are asked to keep their doors and windows locked. But what happens when your at a slumber party, and someone has turned the radio off? With a knock at the door, Todd may soon find his next victims. 

Shawn Gabborin takes a “stab” at turning the horror genre on it head as the tables are turned on the killer. It’s a comical two-page story that’s certainly going to get a few chuckles - and maybe raise a few eyebrows too! 

The Comics That Made Us (Pete Stewart) 

Inspired by his own comic related group which shares the same name, Stewart takes us on a visual trip down memory lane. Through the eyes of Manuel Flores - who resembles the late-great Carlos Ezquerra - we get a thoughtful insight into how comics have changed, and how artistic styles have changed with them. 

For anyone who’s friends with Pete Stewart on social media you would have already seen plenty of his work. His unique rough-yet-detailed style can be seen on both his own social media profile, as well as a few 2000 AD/comic centred Facebook groups. However, here Stewart is able to bring his artistic flair to a much wider audience. The Comics That Made Us is a good step in the right direction, and here’s hoping we see more in the future! 

Zom-B-Movie (Shawn Gabborin, Stephen Reid) 

Shawn Gabborin returns to round off the interlude strips with another crazy two-page story. Teaming up once again with Stephen Reid, Gabborin this time takes aim at the very cliched genre that’s the zombie apocalypse. 

Much like Slumber Party, Gabborin crams plenty of genre satire into just two pages. With a clever twist at the end, Zom-B-Movie is a great segue into…

Deb Bonair: The Jewel of Awon (Stephen Reid, Julius Howe, Rory Hensley) 

Seeing this second issue out is another galaxy quest with (in)famous space pirate; Deb Bonair. This time around The Megaverse’s own Julius Howe tackles script duty as Reid lends his talents to both the overall plot, and colouring the whole thing. 

Much like Kyla, this outing for Deb Bonair is self contained with further hints of a wider arc developing in the background. For The Jewl of Awon we see Debs and her crew liberating the titular jewel from the scaly rapscallion Captain Skink. While Debs attempts to steal the jewel, it’s over to Macha to create a diversion. Trouble is, she can’t quite think of one.

While I enjoyed the original outing for Deb Bonair, this second adventure is far more enjoyable. Howe’s script keeps everything on the right track, and there’s plenty of room given to the wider world building away from Debs and her team. Rory Hensley delivers another showcase of the weird and wonderful as he mixes the familiar elements of swashbuckling pirates, with high-tech sci-fi. 

Overall, White Heat Comics #2 improves upon its already impressive opening issue in every way. With an increased page count, plenty of thrills, and more from Pete Stewart, White Heat Comics #2 is a worthy of a place on any comic book shelf. And with room to expand, it’s going to be with us for quite a while longer! 

At time of writing White Heat Comics #2 is still available to pledge towards via Kickstarter. You can check out the campaign page by clicking here. 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social