Decoy: Menagerie Part 2

“I don’t like the Impossible Man”.

“I don’t like anthologies…especially those that feature various artists or writers”.

These are a couple of thoughts that ran through my mind as I stared at Penny-Farthing Press’ latest hardcover offering. I’ve loved everything I’ve read from PFP so far and I feared that this streak was going to come to an end.

Sometimes, I love it when I’m wrong as in the case of my aforementioned first impressions.

Decoy is a rather innocent-looking, green, meta-being or alien gifted with seemingly limitless powers to morph and shape into anything humanly imaginable. Decoy (whose name cannot be expressed with human vocal chords as it would cause your head to explode) is, thankfully, the complete opposite of his Marvelous counterpart. Decoy comes from a world who trains their males to be the ultimate alpha-creatures trained to dominate and enslave the universe. But, Decoy is different. Decoy, although fully-equipped with vast powers, is a creature with a sensitive heart. He is enjoined in a symbiotic relationship with a rookie police officer Bobby Luck. Luck takes Decoy along with him and the anthology details their myriad adventures.



“Decoy: Menagerie Part 2” is one of the best reads of the year. If you haven’t read Part 1, don’t let that scare you off as each story is self-contained and independent of each other. The stories are written and illustrated by an expertly chosen creative team of writers that are some of the best, brightest and up and coming talents in the industry. The varied artistic styles combine to portray a slice of life from the days in the lives of this dynamic duo. The stories range from the time-traveling fable to the gritty, inner city encounter to a family dinner at thanksgiving. This is truly an all-ages book at its best. Although it can be qualified as “all-ages”, the book’s stories don’t talk down to its audience. The stories can be fun-filled, adventurous and introspective.

“Decoy: Menagerie Part 2” is definitely a must-have book that every one of all ages can enjoy. Books such as this one are rare in today’s market as it remind me of all the things that are good about reading comics.