Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks uses conflict to highlight a character, allowing circumstances to create the situation that forces a character’s past to the front.
Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks has a lot happening with peril on all fronts, but maintains a character-focused story, ensnaring readers with its unique characters. Its LGBTQ+ characters exist naturally, and the relationships feel sweet, natural, troubled, and comical. Even better, it does not feel confusing for the reader if they happen to jump into the story here. There’s even a brief recap at the beginning to assist. Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks uses conflict to highlight a character, allowing circumstances to create the situation that forces a character’s past to the front.
Created by Kendra Wells, the story continues from the first volume, with Prince Eugene now friends with Michel, Ani, and Hocus as they continue on their adventures. Unfortunately, the volume quickly turns, as Eugene receives a summons to return home immediately. If not, the trio with him will have a bounty placed on them. As happens to increase drama, because one person sustains an injury and they cannot slow down, Ani and Hocus hang back, heading somewhere so Hocus can rest and recuperate. Meanwhile, Michel and Eugene move on, hurrying back so the three don’t have to worry about a bounty on their heads.
Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks Centers People
Even though there’s plenty of drama with religion, a tragic past for two characters that come to the fore, and life-threatening dangers, the focus is people. As such, it’s even engrossing for people who are not fans of fantasy stories. Through their separation, Michel and Hocus’s characters go through situations that harken to their past. This allows growth in the present. It’s naturally inclusive and a lot of fun, especially Ani and Eugene’s love-and-argue connection. Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks has the types of heroes worth knowing.
Hocus’s story bears similarities to The Hunchback of Notre Dame because of its ties to religion and abuse. But it leaves readers to draw their own conclusions as it builds the relationship between Hocus and the others in the religious order Hocus is part of. The themes of growing up through separating from what was once known are present, too, along with the pain of realizing sometimes the people who care for you are the first ones to harm you.
Meanwhile, Michel’s story deals with their past and struggle to communicate with others. It’s easy to identify with aspects of the characters while wishing one possessed the supernatural traits as well. The moral question of taking a life might seem separate from everyday people. But the exploration of what’s morally acceptable works because it does not feel trite. While Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks has lighthearted sections, it’s not afraid to get dark when exploring the characters.
A Magically Inclusive Tale
Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks is a sweet, passionate, and emotional look at the bonds between four friends as they strengthen and explore themselves and their relationships with others. I love the openness of the relationships and how there’s conflict, but attacking their identities is not the focal point, with no regard for anything else. They argue, love, stress, and the comic wraps it within a fun read. Stories like Real Hero Shit 2: Harder Than It Looks are essential entertainment because they put diverse characters into magical tales while living up to its title, showing that heroes are down-to-earth people with the same challenges.
