The art in volume one of Dynamite's Highlander series scared me away for a while. When I finally worked up my nerve to try again, I found volume two ... better.

It's still not great. But artist Fabio Laguna at least has a journeyman's knowledge of the appearance of the iconic characters from the cult film and TV series. The people here look enough like the actors who played them that you at least know who's who, which was lacking in The Coldest War.

The story, too, is better. Dark Quickening borrows a concept from the TV series -- that taking the head of an evil immortal can infuse the personality of his killer with that evil nature -- and applies it to the aftermath of the first film. Connor MacLeod, fans will recall, slew the Kurgan, the first and best villain of the whole bloody Highlander landscape, and is now being torn apart by the Kurgan's evil nature.

That's not good news for Brenda, Connor's new wife, nor Duncan, his television cousin who is here to lend a hand. Meanwhile, another immortal is eager to see Connor become Kurgan Lite and is doing his best to help the process along.

All in all, Dark Quickening is a nice taste of the Highlander mythos long after the series ended ... but it's not very satisfying. Dynamite has better writers and artists in its stable and should consider turning some loose here.