Napoleon Dynamite #2: The Plot Thickens

Napoleon Dynamite #2
Written by: Carlos Guzman-Verdugo & Alejandro Verdugo
Art and Colors by: Jorge Monlongo
Design and Letters by: Christa Miesner
Cover by: Sara Richard
Assistant Edits by: Megan Brown
Edited by: Tom Waltz
Released: Dec. 4, 2019

The plot thickens as Napoleon and Joana Gato investigate the alleged fraud behind Pedro's election, podcasters Dani and Jay investigate Uncle Rico's involvement in Councilman Doug Young's death and Deb and Pedro's cousins attempt damage control from two very different angles.

Issue 2 opens with a podcast monologue citing the Webster's dictionary definition of murder – a tired rhetorical device that should be retired but fits here because it underscores Dani and Jay's opinion of their own importance and the way they've decided on a narrative before getting all, or even most of, the facts. Their interviews reveal Preston High School students are more interested in the scandal about Pedro's election.

A chance kickball encounter leads to a confrontation between Napoleon and Joana, who is featured on the cover looking more than a little like Runways' Molly Hayes. Things getting really heated when he insults her cat sweater.

Dani and Jay stumble into an interview with an unsuspecting Uncle Rico, and we learn I was not that far off in my theory about Young. He wasn't the coach who benched Rico, but the quarterback who started, and stayed in, that ill-fated state title game. The duo have a somewhat plausible theory about Rico's motive, based only on circumstantial of evidence (though Rico pronounces that a bit... differently).

Meanwhile, Pedro addresses the student body but says little, on the advice of his attorney, his cousin Luis. Deb convinces him to hold a press conference to show he has nothing to hide, but it doesn't go well. Napoleon's effort to win hearts and minds with a series of sweet flyers also backfires, with the message coming across comically heavy handed.

Rico decides to bring in the big guns to defend himself – nephew Kip and his bride Lafawnduh.

The second issue does a nice job expanding beyond the scope of the movie, with Rico and Joana getting more of the spotlight. Joana's background and motivation are more intriguing to me at this point than what exactly happened with the election, and that's not a knock on the story. I also expect more developments out of the rivalry between Rex Kwon Do and Ace Combat, where Sensei Brock Montana has become Napoleon's new mentor.

Monlongo's art continues to fit the story well, and he makes excellent use of spreads taking up two-thirds, a full page and two pages to tell the story in dynamic fashion, even when there's not a lot of “action.”