Lady Mechanika Volume 2

by M. M. Chen

[Quirky Cat]

The second complete volume of Lady Mechanika, titled Tablet of Destinies will not disappoint fans, even newly found ones like myself. The artwork is just as superb as it was in the first volume, as are the fight scenes and the intrigue. I still have a lot of questions about Lady Mechanika and her past, but then, so does she.



Warnings first: There’s a pair of siblings that go hunting with Lady Mechanika. They’re pretty cruel, end up killing an animal, and then want to hunt its children (don’t worry though, that bit doesn’t happen). It all happens at the start of the volume so if you want to skip this part it should be easy to do so.
For the sake of honestly I should tell you that I’d read Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte before this volume (I know, I’m odd, but I saw it and couldn’t resist), and thus I got a pretty big spoiler for later in the series. While I suspected that said event occurred in the third volume, I wasn’t sure, and thus approached this volume with a bit of trepidation. I never look forward to losing a character, especially when they’re one I am fond of. So now I’m dreading that revelation.
Despite my concerns, I ended up reading all of Tablet of Destinies in one sitting, as I just couldn’t put it down. I’ve already fallen in love with the aesthetics of this series, but adding ancient artifacts and secret societies managed to up the ante in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
Fans of Winifred (whom I find adorable) will be happy to see her back in the series, though probably less thrilled when they realize she’s in danger. Trust me when I say I was very worried about her and her cute (not so) little glasses! Hearing her tale of self-defense and her awareness of everything going on around her just further increased my opinion of her. I still love that she idolizes Lady Mechanika, and I think in this case she’s proving to be a good role model.
The steampunk elements of this series will never cease to amaze and amuse me. Though I’m always surprised by the sense of humor that it has; such as the commentary on all men’s (or any gender really) secret societies.
I ended up becoming quite fond of some of the characters introduced in this volume. While it’s state that we’re unlikely to see them again, I hope that isn’t actually the case. It was nice having a few more named characters to watch interact with Lady Mechanika.
As per usual, I ended up loving the art as much as, if not more than, anything else provided in this series. It’s absolutely stunning. I can’t say enough wonderful things about it.


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