Show’s End: The Second Coming – An Outlawed Invitation

Show’s End: The Second Coming is the followup to Mad Cave Studios’ carny horror series. In this chapter beginning on July 27, characters develop in a cultish refuge.

Show’s End: (Before) The Second Coming

In the original Show’s End readers follow Daxton Rickles’ Carnival, a traveling troupe of freaks struggling to stay afloat. Enter the newest carny Loralyle, a 12-year old girl cursed with extraordinary power. While bullets can pass through her and blades can’t cut her, she also turns into a monster when she gets emotional. Worse yet, she’s being pursued by an evil ringmaster. But when Loralyle uncovers ringmaster Daxton’s backup plan for money, things start to fall apart. Not only does the show suffer with carnies leaving, that evil Ringmaster comes in. At least until this found family comes together. So where are they now?

New Performances

As it turns out, not so well. The cast are left to perform on street corners when they can. With gangsters and landlords shaking the troupe down for money, life’s never been harder. Pig boy Pavel gets hit the hardest for his appearance. Coincidentally his character starts to develop from the last saga, from the frustrated boy with a good heart to a tragic soul. How so? Well, Pavel’s father was a Leatherface-style slasher. While the troupe doesn’t want to judge him a recent event makes it hard not to. Pavel’s frustrations make him the prime suspect in murders of thugs who tormented him. With that in mind, readers sympathize with the Pig Boy; not only does has to put up with bullying but having his found family look over their shoulders with him.

Loralyle in particular does not believe Pavel is the killer; this is in spite of Pavel taking his anger out on her for not tearing apart the thugs herself. But maybe that’s because Loralyle has other things on her mind. In particular the nature of her powers that can only be found in refuge. But this place is anything but a safe haven.

The Scariest Show On Earth

See, Sanctuary Glades went from refuge to a cult. This status is probably one of the best setting that will challenge the cast. Pavel in particular likes being accepted over regular looking people after being ridiculed. With how everyone suspects him of murder, it’s justified.

Meanwhile Loralyle finds her mother’s family leading this cult. But compared to the man who chased her, they are much more vile. Like any cult they lure the vulnerable and exploited like circus freaks to their cause. Often that means isolating them from their loved ones like fellow performers. Not even Loralyle is safe from them. Jef Sadzinski illustrates an eerie atmosphere around the cult leaders, often in contrast with comforts and justifications for their activities.

I mean the caged carriage and flyers don’t say a show, those say “this is a cult”. Which might be because Sadzinski decorates anything in relation to this “Refuge” on crooked angles. Along with the red and black coloring by Fabi Marques, nothing about this place feels like a safe haven. In juxtaposition the Sanctuary Glade has been reduced to a pale blue husk of itself; it’s almost like the Refuge drained the life out of the Glade. Not to mention the fence and weapons the carnies are armed with say no one leaves without a say-so.

Show’s End: The Second Coming Of An Ensemble!

As a bonus, the writer Anthony Cleveland gives the supporting cast their own arcs. Pavel in particular proves everyone wrong about him. Partly because after seeing how gruesome his father and the cult are, he accepts his real family and the responsibilities that come with it. Bouncing off that is Copper who shows where his love and care comes from. He respects the disabled war veterans for being what he couldn’t and how he’s driven by loss to keep Pavel and Loralyle safe. Finally Vaddy is showing depths of her character beyond being de facto leader. She is haunted by how her deformity affects her and how she has to eventually confront her sins. Nobody really wins in these developments, but it gives value to each decision they make.

Got Your Tickets To Show’s End: The Second Coming?

Show’s End: The Second Coming is a good followup to the last saga. Characters develop as the journey takes our lovable carnies into the pits of a cult. Even when this stage is done, the show is far from over. Cleaveland sure does have a talent for leaving readers in suspense.

For now this series gets 9/10 for good character work and setting up a dreary atmosphere.