In this second volume of Solo: The Survivors of Chaos, we see a love story blooming blooming amidst the ruins of the old world. Between anthropomorphic rats, specifically.
Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 is a post-apocalyptic fantasy graphic novel by Oscar Martin. It is, in fact, the sequel to the award-winning comic book of the same name he wrote back on January 15, 2020. In fact, you can get it on websites like ComiXology for $29.99. As of this writing, there is a 47% discount in effect, making it $14.99 in total. If you want to take advantage of it, get it now.
Oscar Martin actually did both the writing and the art for Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2, which is pretty impressive considering the size of this graphic novel. At 94 pages, it’s a doorstopper by comic book standards. The publisher is Titan Comics, as was the case for the first volume.
You can get Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 on June 22, 2021. The hardcover copies cost $24.99, while the digital version costs $29.99 at full price. You can get physical copies at your local comic book store. Or if you want the digital version, you can get it at online outlets like ComiXology.
Warning: spoilers for Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 below. If you have any interest in this post-apocalyptic Zootopia story, stop right here and come back once you’ve come back from the wasteland.
Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 ~ Plot Summary
Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 dumps you into the action right off the bat with a group of sapient and heavily armed rats shooting up a gigantic mutant chasing one of their own. The beginning also introduces us to protagonist Solo, who’s basically Mad Max if he was an anthropomorphic rat. Theoretically, the story is also about his girlfriend Lyra, but she ends up being more of a supporting character rather than a true deuteragonist. We’ll get back to that later.
Anyways, Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 then introduces us to a childhood male friend of Lyra’s. This is also the point where Solo basically turns into a very jealous jerk. Apparently, he doesn’t handle jealousy well, because he breaks up with her in a huff and goes back to wandering the wasteland. This is after assaulting said childhood friend, so guilt might’ve been part of the equation there. It’s while wandering through the wasteland that Solo finds his long-lost father and brother again.
After a brief explanation as to how they came to be there in Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2, Solo’s father convinces Solo that breaking up with Lyra was a bad idea. Solo then heads back to the town where he’d left her. Unfortunately, he finds out that humans and apes have already destroyed the place and apparently killed everyone, including Lyra. Distraught, Solo runs out into the desert, and basically tries to commit suicide by poisonous grass. Yes, apparently the reason why everyone in this world eats meat is because the plants are poisonous.
Fortunately, Lyra and her childhood friend magically appears and saves Solo. Apparently, they escaped the attack, and found him in the nick of time. Solo is overjoyed. Lyra’s childhood friend decides to leave to keep Solo from having another jealousy attack. Solo and Lyra live happily ever after, making a new home and raising a pair of kids, with a third on the way. And that’s the end of Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2. Oh, and there was some kind of overarching plot about why the humans and their ape soldiers were attacking rat towns, but the graphic novel never goes back to it.
Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 ~ The Good
Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 is basically Zootopia crossed over with Fallout/Mad Max. The premise about a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals (plus a few humans) alone catches your attention. Heck, even Solo’s personality is very similar to Max Rockatansky’s. The only difference is that Solo is actually a better person than Max. At least Solo doesn’t completely try to push away his loved ones. Or at least, someone made Solo realize this before it was too late.
The outlandish cartoon style of the character art for Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 might be a bit of a turnoff to some. Personally, I find the juxtaposition of the cartoonish characters and the extreme violence to be an interesting combo. It’s sort of like a Loony Tunes cartoon was made for adults and the violence is played for drama rather than comedy.
Another thing I’d praise about Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 is the action scenes. You really get a sense of motion during these action scenes, and they’re quite brutal. I would call it artistically brutal, almost like BRZRKR.
Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 ~ The Bad
My main issue with Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 is the hanging plot thread involving the humans and apes. There was a short scene in which they revealed that the reason why the humans and apes want to capture live rats is to establish a rat farm to farm meat so that they don’t have to go out hunting. Or at least, not as much as they would’ve. You would think this would make them the final bosses for Solo and Lyra to face, but you’d be wrong. Yes, the human and apes’ plan does seriously affect the story and characters, but they don’t resolve it. At all. Hopefully, this plot thread will get resolved in volume 3.
Speaking of Lyra though, I’d actually a bit put off by how she seems to have been shoved off as a side character for a good portion of the story. Theoretically, she would’ve been a deuteragonist due to her importance to Solo. Instead, she feels more like a MacGuffin than a character. I feel like the story could’ve been a bit better if she got a bit of character development and screen time. Just an opinion here.
Conclusion
Solo: The Survivors of Chaos 2 by Oscar Martin is basically a combination of Zootopia, Fallout, and Mad Max. Heck, the main character might as well be a slightly more likable Mad Max. Want to read this post-apocalyptic tale of furries? Check it out out June 22, 2021; when Titan Comics releases it. Also, this has nothing to do with the other Solo. Just to clarify for all you Star Wars fans.
Source: Titan Comics
