Same engaging sepia art as we learn a little more backstory on the barious characters, and Jet's past begins to catch up with him. ( )

Summary: In Volume 2, in the wake of an averted robot attack on the Taylor's farm, Oswald starts getting suspicious of the strange rocket boy. As he starts to learn a little bit more about who Jet is, and the secret's he's keeping, it becomes clear that there's even more he doesn't know. How much can they trust this strange boy from the war, really? And will they want to be in the middle when other strangers come looking for him?

Review: Rust is really good, maybe even better than I expected. It's kind of an amalgam of World War I/dustbowl Western/steampunk, with a hefty dose of family drama. A lot of the story is told through the pictures, both in the action sequences (scenes from the war, or Jet fighting off the robots that are coming after him) as well as in the heart of the story. The text is relatively minimal throughout - mostly Roman's letters to his father, although some dialogue as well - but there's a definite kind of quietness to this book (which is weird, because: giant fighting robots). But none of the characters are particularly talkative - they're laconic, reserved, shy, secretive, whatever - so a lot of the the characterization, as well as many of the most powerful moments of the story (like Jet fixing the sink in Volume 1) happen in their faces or their actions. The artwork also certainly contributes to the quiet feeling of the story. It's all done in a subdued palette of sepias, appropriate for the dustbowl setting while also building the mood. Lepp also has a way of using a blurring effect in his drawings - for movement, yes, but also rain, fire, close focus, etc. - that I've never seen done before in comics, and is really visually striking. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: It reminds me a little bit of Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, although that's probably the Western-cum-steampunk vibe more than the story itself. But if that sort of thing appeals to you at all, Rust is well worth tracking down. ( )

Rust: Secrets of the Cell by Royden Lepp is the second of the Rust graphic novels. As of posting this review, I have not read the first volume — but the second one seems to stand alone just fine.

The book opens after a robot attack on the Taylor farm. Jet, the mysterious farm hand seems to have ties to the old robot wars. While the owner of the farm doesn't seem to mind, others on the farm do.

The artwork is rather monochromatic — appropriate for a dust bowl type story. There's a lot of rust in Rust. ( )

This is the second book in the Rust series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The artwork is interesting and well done and the story progresses nicely.

The Taylor farm is recovering from their second robot attack. Meanwhile Oswold suspects that Jet is not as human as he seems and goes looking for answers from the past. Roman is still determined to revive the attack robots and reprogram them to work the farm, he also is comforted by the visit of his childhood girlfriend.

We learn a lot more background about where Jet came from and what his past is. This was very interesting and I loved learning more history behind this world. There is another robot attack and Oswold learns more about the history of the war and secrets behind the cells that drove it.

This book was a bit of a calm before the storm. Things are looking up for the farm at the beginning of the book but you can just tell that things aren’t going to stay that way.

I again enjoyed the sepia tone to the artwork, it matches the tone of the story very well. The artwork is well done and it is easy to follow the story. Much of the story is told in pictures and it is very well done.

Overall I really enjoyed this installment of the Rust series. I am excited to see what happens in the third book. I am really enjoying the artwork, the characters, and the world here. I want to learn more about the history of this world. ( )

Z started this and set it aside. He just didn't dig it as much as Rust #1. ( )