Pink Lemonade #2 by creator Nick Cagnetti and indie publisher It’s Alive! continues to deliver a vibrant, fun, gorgeous and energetic comic that is a love letter to the entire medium.
When footage of Pink Lemonade’s splashy balloon rescue stunt on a movie set gets leaked internally by hotshot movie producer Zavi Xarad, the public’s interest is piqued! They think Pink Lemonade is a new character in the new Ron Radical movie being filmed! Meanwhile, while attempting to bring back the original OJ-BOT, Pink Lemonade is tricked into signing a contract to co-star in a film with Ron Radical. Later, on the set of the new film, when the director yells action, Ron begins blasting Pink Lemonade. When she refuses to fight, Barzibelly Jr. (the strange being seen in her visions back in issue one) gives her control over what happens next in the film… and you don’t wanna miss what happens next!
Pink Lemonade #2
‘Behind The Curtain’
Written, drawn, colored, inked and lettered by: Nick Cagnetti
Ron Radical co-created by: Tristen Bagnall
‘Free Day’
Written and Colored by: Nick Cagnetti
Art by: Don Simpson
Published by: It’s Alive!
After a first issue that introduced a core concept and cast of characters, Pink Lemonade #2 jumps right into its story, with a particular focus on Ron Radical, the 90s comic character ‘parody’ we met in issue #1. Ron is the star of his own movie franchise, but we learn early on he is in the midst of an existential crisis about his identity. He narrates he has “lost his desire to please an audience that has moved on without me”. But producer Zavi Xarad (this comic is filled with great names like that!) has other plans and unbeknownst to the crew and stars, Xarad is under the thumb ff the Kirbyesque ‘villain’ Barzibelly Jr. Barzibelly wants to force the production into an endless fight between Pink Lemonade and Ron. He almost succeeds, until Pink’s goodness and pureness affects Ron and unveils a softer, creative side the pumped-up hero. It seems Ron Radical likes to paint and he does so in the middle of a comic book fight. The whole issue basically revolves around Ron and in doing so he goes from a parody to celebration of 90s comics. It’s a great subtle move that continues to show how this comic is all about the love for comics.
The art in this book is just phenomenal. It’s vibrant, colorful and full of energy. The linework is crisp and clean, invoking a silver-age aesthetic with a modern sheen. It’s also fantastically designed and has amazing layouts. This book is also heavily influenced by Jack Kirby and Mike Allred and you would be hard-pressed to find a better combination of influences for a book like this. Just look at the pages included in this review and they literally will speak for themselves. It’s the kind of art you can just take in an absorb.
The back-up story, ‘Free Day’ also works as a great epilogue and features art by the great Don Simpson (Megaton Man). Seeing Simpson’s art on pages is always welcome and was a great surprise in the end.
You definitely need to grab Pink Lemonade #2 if you can. In this drought of new comics we are having during the current crisis, it’s the best comic book thirst quencher you will find. You can grab it from It’s Alive! Comics directly and if you mention your local comic shop at checkout, It’s Alive will give 50% of the proceeds to your shop! Just another reason to love this comic!
