NED, LORD OF THE PIT, VOL. 2/ Script, Art, Colors and Covers by JIM CALAFIORE/ Color Flatting by JAMES FLATS / Letters and Production by DAVE SHARPE & DEZI SIENTY/ Published by PAINFULLY NORMAL PRODUCTIONS

The first volume of Ned, Lord of the Pit was a pleasant surprise I was sorry to have missed when it was originally crowdfunded. I was a big fan of Jim Calafiore’s artwork on Leaving Megapolis and Secret Six and was given a chance to check out his passion project after the fact. It turns out Jim is as good a writer as he is an artist, which is a rare thing. What’s rarer still is the sequel that surpasses the original, which brings us to Ned, Lord of the Pit, Vol. 2.

Vol. 2 picks up where the first one left off, with out-of-work actor Ned Hume still coping with his dark legacy. His corporate weasel father turns out to be a Lord of Hell, and Ned now has access to fantastic powers in the wake of his older brother’s death. The problem is Ned doesn’t want this power or responsibility. He especially wants to get rid of the demon and zombie that are crashing in his apartment. However, that’s just the start of Ned’s problems.

Two cops are trailing Ned on suspicion of his being involved with the sudden deaths of multiple young actors. A squad of angels are out to kill him as part of the war between Heaven and Hell. A rival of his father is about to pull a corporate coup for his position. And Ned doesn’t care about any of this beyond it getting in the way of his talking to his girlfriend about what the Hell (pun very much intended) is going on, as she tries to talk to him about her own issues and their future.

The general mix of comedy and drama employed is comparable to Bruce Almighty and An American Werewolf in London. The drama hits harder this time, however, even amidst the laughs. Jim Calafiore has a great ear for dialogue and all of his characters are memorable. More importantly, Ned is a sympathetic central character, in spite of being a total jackass whose desire to not get involved only makes his problems even worse. This trait comes back to bite him more than once, and sets the stage for a third volume.

The artwork, as is usual for a Jim Calafiore book, is detailed and wonderful. His creature designs are fantastic. His human characters (or the ones taking on human forms) all have distinctive designs so there’s no issue with keeping track of who is who. All in all, the only real downside to this volume is you have to have read the first book to completely understand it. That’s no hardship, however, as both books can now be bought directly from Calafiore on his personal site.