The Eye Collector #2 Comic Book Review
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Jonathan Ball
Artist: GMB Chomichuk
Letterer: Lyndon Radchenka
Cover artist(s): GMB Chomichuk; Scott A. Ford; Steven Kaul
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: July 29th, 2026
From Image Comics:
After Nathan’s parents promise his eyes to the Eye Collector in exchange for making their dreams come true, Nathan discovers he must protect his only friend Clara from the strange visitor who comes to his house at night. From the creators of Last Breeds and The Princess and the Dragon.
In The Eye Collector #2, creators Jonathan Ball, GMB Chomichuk and Lyndon Radchenka continue their abstract cosmic horror series. This issue introduces a family and dares readers to tag along as they take it to Earth. Unfortunately, I can see where some readers may veer off the journey into this strange world they’re building.
As my review of The Eye Collector #1 indicated, I found the debut issue to be the right amount of bizarre and intriguing you’d want in a book such as this. This second issue didn’t quite hit the same notes, though. Bizarre? Absolutely. Intriguing? Not so much. It’s unfortunate as there is obviously something to what this team is doing. Their passion and commitment is noted as such in their letter to readers.
Many of my remarks about the first issue apply here as well. This is where there’s some disconnect as what the book offered before now work against it. This may become one of those stories, when it’s all said and done, that played out better in concept than in execution.
The comic book medium is one that not only embraces its weird and quirky nature, but wears it proudly on its sleeve. Beyond the overall premise, this is boldly evidenced in letting Chomichuk shine. The eerie nature of his art permeates throughout the book. From the character design to the eye motif to the color palette, the vibe and atmosphere firmly plant readers in the world of horror.
I’m quite curious about Chomichuk’s process and what materials he uses. There is, for lack of a better term (not an art major), a sort of watercolor paint aesthetic as the colors flow with each other. It carries a dreamlike (or nightmare, rather?) quality.
With comics being such the visual medium they are, I give the team much credit for allowing the art to feature so prominently in the storytelling. Also, let’s acknowledge a team locked in on their vision and offering a unique book that stands out on comic racks such as this. It leans into the peculiar and demands readers follow along as it shows much and tells little.
The flip side of that, though, is you only have so many times where readers say some form of “I don’t know what’s going on here” before they check out entirely. There’s a fine line in there, from a reader’s perspective, where a book is engaging, but vague enough to leave questions, and just being vague and weird for the sake of it. That’s where I sat with this issue, for the most part.
Although it’s one story featuring Nathan, it nearly acts as two tales in one. There’s Nathan’s home life with his parents and what comes with preparing a child for bedtime. There are also the portions of the story where Nathan and Clara, his new friend, are together. When both sides would seemingly begin to converge, the story ends. Their time together was when I was the most invested in the issue.
While I can, of course, appreciate the way this team has approached this book, there was a significant drop-off from the first issue to the second for me. I can imagine other readers being turned off after this one. With all that said, there’s enough here from the pure creative madness of the first book and the overall premise that still has my curiosity piqued. I’m interested to see what’s in store for issue #3.
Disclaimer: I read a copy of this comic book via the Hoopla Digital app.