Warhammer 40,000: Sisters Of Battle #2 - Marvel Comics

WARHAMMER 40,000: SISTERS OF BATTLE No. 2, November 2021

Providing its audience with a disconcertingly bleak flashback to a time when Novitiate Ghita was just a small, blonde-haired adolescent running through the dangerous alleyways of Siscia so as to be with her pitifully disfigured friends, Torunn Grønbekk’s storyline for Issue Two of “Warhammer 40,000: Sisters Of Battle” certainly shows the stagnant human civilisation of the far future in the very worst of lights. But whilst such decadence will doubtless make some readers question just why the chaos-infested industrial planet is actually worth saving, it does help emphasise every small act of kindness which the Adepta Sororitas can provide for those colonists who prove worthy.

Indeed, by having her narrative focus upon such a small number of Sisters of Battle amidst such a massive, violent uprising the Norwegian author ensures that every decision, thought, and observation that the Emperor’s loyal warriors make are absolutely crucial to the success of their covert mission. This attention to detail really helps ramp up the tension as the tightly-knitted Kill Team find themselves being drawn deeper down the daemon-filled tunnels, and actually adds some palatable weight to the rulings made by the Canoness Veridyan; “We have two choices. Try to get through the main gates or take down the sentry gun.”

Likewise, there’s a definite sense of threat from even the most poorly-armed opponent, which forces the titular characters to choose their targets and opportunities wisely. This concern, even when facing three seemingly weaponless workers in a subterranean settlement imbues the comic’s atmosphere with a genuine sense of dread and foreboding, especially when the faithless begin making bizarre incarnations against the Emperor and transform together into a huge, grinning monstrosity from beyond the warp.

Edgar Salazar is also at the top of his game with this book’s pencilling, making it abundantly clear with his well-populated panels just how massive the heretical uprising is which the Adepta Sororitas are slowly infiltrating, as well as how uncomfortably tiny the loyalist penetration squad actually are. In addition, the sad demise of Sister Superior Cassia is heartbreakingly drawn and it is easy to see the anguish upon Veridyan’s face as she caringly cradles her dying friend’s fast-failing form.

The regular cover art of "WARHAMMER 40,000: SISTERS OF BATTLE" #2 by Dave Wilkins