America Vol. 2: Fast and Fuertona

by Gabby Rivera

[Quirky Cat]

The second volume of America is out, and even though I didn’t love the last volume I knew I had to give this one a try anywhere. America just has so much potential, and what I felt the first volume really lacked was a solid and longer term plot. I waffled a little bit on giving this one a try, when the time came, but the artwork ended up selling me (again).
I will say that volume two does in fact have a more solid plot for most of the volume, so that’s a refreshing change from the first (which really felt like a bunch of one-shots more than anything). I still think there’s a lot of room for improvement on this series, but I’ll take what I can get.



Fast and Fuertona is the second volume in the America series; I’m not sure how many are planned (I know it was potentially on the chopping block at one point, but I haven’t wanted to see how things ended up going for it – I have a feeling I know though, based on other series I’ve been hearing about), but I do hope/wish that this one would get a chance to find it’s groove first. I’d like to see it really given a chance.
I was so happy when I realized that this volume actually had not one, but two overarching plots going on, though admittedly I liked one more than the other. Ironically I think I would have preferred having each plot stretched out into its own volume each (and yes, that even applies to the one I didn’t like as much). Mostly because both plots ended up feeling rushed, but especially the second one.
The second plot covered more of America’s backstory, or more accurately, the story of where she came from. It was building up to this major and important point, only to have them rush through the conclusion. Now, maybe they did the rushing intentionally (like say if they were afraid they were going to get cancelled before they finished their story) and that I can totally understand. But I still wish that we had more time to explore this story and her world just a bit more.
Like the first volume there were some artist changes throughout the volume. I’d like to say that I loved all of the styles, but some of them just fit America’s personality better than others. I will say that all of the covers were absolutely striking, so that’s something at least.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this series just has so much potential, it’s hard to get over. I think that’s why it always feels like I’m being harsh on it – I want it to be greater than it currently is, because it so easily could be. I know Marvel is in the process of doing a massive rebooting of many/most of their series. Maybe America will end up on that list, and she’ll get some of the attention she deserves once again. I think if she were given a long term and complicated plot it could end up being something wonderful.


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