I've fallen in love with the Lady Mechanika books. The stories are great and the art is lavish, with mindbogglingly intricate details. This series has become not just a must read for me, but a must buy.

One of the better steampunk graphic novel/comic series being published. If you are a fan of the genre, as well as a fan of mysteries and action-packed adventures, this series would be for you.

This was beautiful, though not for me. I love the aesthetic and the art a lot! And although I won't be continuing with the series, I still recommend for steampunk fans.

ARC from Netgalley.
This second Volume of Lady Mechanika continues the story set forth in the first Volume, but adds a motherly aspect to the character through Winifred, grand-daughter of famous explorer, Professor Thomson. Thomson is on an expedition in Africa to find "The Tablet of Destinies", an ancient artifact that will grant the finder access to great secrets and (more than likely) a great weapon. Obviously, what kind of story would it be if we didn't have a villain show up, so you can add kidnapping of 'Fred as inspiration for Thomson to find the Tablet to the list.
The story undergoes a semi-repeating structure: Beat up some bad guys, save 'Fred, find out some info, go to the next place, 'Fred gets abducted, repeat. Sounds like the repetition would get annoying but it does not. When you add in all the wonderful steampunk goodness (i.e. airships, rocketpacks, weaponry, etc), adventures in many different locales (cave, desert, jungle, forest... all on several continents), complex deep characters and the art...
The art of this series is absolutely gorgeous! Joe Benitez has incredible skills that would lend well to any title, but when combined with both MM Chen and Peter Steigerwald, Lady Mechanika excels despite not being released by a major publishing house.
I really look forward to continuing this series, hopefully finding out more about Mechanika's origins soon. Strong recommend.

I adore Lady Mechanika’s personality, stories and interactions. She’s a genuine female character that is strong, capable and not afraid (although having robotic arms might help, lol).
And yet this mini series of 6 comics was not near as good as some of the others.

Story
Normally Mechanika books have some of the best story and dialogue found in comics. However this time around the story felt a bit forced and the dialogue in the last book was painful. I’m not sure what happened as it didn’t start out that way and normally his crew writes way better. My 4 star rating is a 3.5 rounded up because the character is so wonderful and I’d definitely still reread this one series in the continuity; but I won’t be grabbing it for a quick read when there are other better mini series featuring Mechanika to grab.

Artwork
As always the art is wonderful! I love the bright colours and look of the Amazonian-like girl near the end and the consistent look of outfits and proportions of people was well done. As with all of Benitez’ work this is a treat for your eyes even if you don’t read the story.

Overall
If this is the weakest story in the recent release of series for Mechanika is Tablet of Destinites; then it really shows how amazing the other series have been or will be. It’s still a good read, shorter at 6 comics and a nice enclosed story that you can read without needing to know anything else.
That it was missing a little something in the story and writing for me is possibly because my expectation for Benitez work is higher than the average.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

The artwork in this graphic novel is really amazing and the story very entertaining, even if not too original.

This was a really wonderful and lovely series that I wish I could've read the first one for. The story has a great adventurer thrill feel to it that I enjoyed, and it being in a Victorian steampunk setting brought to life endless possibilities and ideas that could be used throughout the story. It was nice having a female lead for once and follow her on her epic adventures. The art style was unique, and the visuals even gave me some ideas for my own stories. I can't wait to try and get my hands on the other books!

Return to Lady Mechanika
I thought we'd know more about Lady Mechanika's origins, her intriguing past and more about Lewis. Well, looking for her trusty, awesomely sarcastic sidekick was a little like playing Where's Waldo.

Still haven't found him. Alright, so nothing about her past, but we do get an extremely entertaining volume where Indiana Jones and Harry Potter had a baby just before meeting Black Panther after tea with Nazis and a few Arabs. Oh, And Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist screamed at them too.

My point is, there is nothing really new in Lady Mechanika vol. 2, but it is all so very entertaining Enough lollygagging. So the premise centres around two men who have stumbled upon an extremely interesting archeological dig in Africa. Yes it's all very specific. Anyone who has seen a crappy superhero or mythological-based action movie knows it will not end well for our archeologists. Melting faces and getting killed by shaman and such. And what they discover is all very much related to transmutation of gold and - guess what else - souls. doesn't sound familiar at all now does it


Soon the "Geheimpolizei"catch wind of the expedition and are looking for this all-powerful tablet that will give all the answers to an alchemist's wet dreams. Now how does Lady Mechanika fit in? Well she was just sipping tea, kicking ass and taking names in London when the head of the archeological expedition's granddaughter got kidnapped by Germans. The granddaughter is called Winifred, and she's just one of the best characters in the series thus far


"The Rosicrucian is supposedly dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment of man through the arts and sciences."

Alright, so now Lady Mechanika is sipping tea and looking for a kianapped girl. She starts by going to a society of Rosicrucians, who shun her for being female and almost get her kicked out. But she received important, vital information from a man called Jabir. And so, Lady M. goes on an adventure with Jabir (and an on-and-off Winifred, depending on when she's not being kidnapped)

"The tablet of destinies holds the knowledge of the Gods and the secrets of the universe...he who possesses (it) shall rule the world."

I won't spoil much more about the premise, but here are some great tidbits I found in the comic:

Lady Mechanika befriends a group of Kongo female women (after saving one of their little ones from slavers). These women were the warrior women who protected a specific chieftain who, after death, was replaced by a huge dick of a chieftain. So all these lovely ladies decide to go diaspora style and live alone in the Congo while flitting this way and there in upper Africa.

Little and Lady Mechanika
I absolutely love the relationship between Winifred (Fred) and Lady M. Their banter is fantastic and Fred, although mostly boasting the role of maiden in distress, is such a sweet and brave kid. Lady Mechanika seems to abhor any kind of physical contact, except hugs from little kids just wish the damn comic writer would start to reveal why she's like this


"Alchemy is the perfect knowledge of whole nature and art"
The style and action are gorgeous and beautifully inviting as usual. And Lady M's choice of style is still on point.

"Alchemy is about more than just turning lead into gold, lady Mechanika"
This comic is still fun and action packed that is a delight to the senses, but is so lacking in the depth hinted at in the previous volume. We have no hint of Lewis's whereabouts, Lady M's origin or the previous plot which hung by a bit of a thread. However, the subtleties found in this volume are still prevalent and so well done. Kudos to the artist/writer because you are great, dude. I think there's a lot of commentary about what society (especially older societies) did to women, and so I think that the Desert Wraiths and Lady Mechanika provide a lovely but subtle critique of the Victorian era.


akina shows them dae way (add meme)

Last thing: Akina wanted to show Lady M "t'e way." I'm not kidding. She said that. And all I could think of was:

Image result for show da way gif

Ooh! And we finally get a mechanical arm reveal! I won't spoil here. Go read for yourself to see some sexy aluminum.

Conclusion
Lady Mechanika is a hellishly fun, pop-culture and steam fueled comic with just the right balance of action and sappy.

Murder, mystery, intrigue and a kick-ass heroine, this was an adventurous tale with high-stakes. It dealt briefly on Lady Mechanika's journey to self-discovery and being different, while also touching on topics like sexism, morality and prejudice. Woven in with fantasy, ancient artifacts and girl-power, this is one steampunk story chock-full of strange ingredients!

And the illustrations? Exquisitely detailed! I cannot IMAGINE just how much work must have gone into creating this piece of art.

My only complaint is the portrayal of all adult females as voluptuous beauties. Even the old lady had seemingly pert chests. And why would an independent woman like Mechanika wear corsets? It's impractical and uncomfortable, especially for someone who fights enemies on a regular basis. Fan-service? And do I have a dirty mind? Because I'm pretty sure I saw the outline of her *ehm* in one frame. I mean, was that necessary??

Either way, reading Vol.2 has made me want to check out the other ones! Also, this volume reminds me of Lara Croft.

P.S. Just saw that they have coloring books for this! What?!

Enjoyable series with beautiful art. As with many graphic novels the story takes you in different directions; however, it was still a wonderfully written and very beautifully drawn. I love that it is part of steampunk world. My only downside to this is that I felt lost. I have read the other installments to this title but it felt like I missed something (which according to the internet I did not). Overall, still a wonderful piece of art.

A gorgeous steampunk action story with beautiful art and a whole lot of derring-do!

I have not read Volume 1 of Lady Mechanika, but the story of Volume 2 is easy to follow, and the characters are well-written and lively, drawing you in from the start. I think this could absolutely be read as a stand-alone, but I am going to track down the first book for more of this beauty! This volume focuses on a search for the lost city of Enki, and it's very cool to see the archaelogists, linguists and other academics at work - this may well be a fantastical history, but it tries to make things seem realistic. There's a real feel of Indiana Jones here.

The detailing is absolutely gorgeous. Where other graphic novels may simply sketch in a background, preferring to focus on action, every page of Lady Mechanika has sumptuous detailing, from carved picture frames to richly textured fur to tiny cogs in between the frames. Some of Lady Mechanika's poses are a little too much like fan-service for me, but I do appreciate the juxtaposition of this superhero trope with the historical setting!

I really enjoyed the character of Winifred, the ass-kicking (literally) little girl with the most enormous goggle-glasses. Lady Mechanika's friendship with her is adorable - she treats her like a small adult, and it's very humanising for what could otherwise be a cold character.

This is a graphic novel in the finest tradition of early adventure stories - very very enjoyable!

I love steampunk graphic novels. Details and artwork are amazing. Story is well written. Lady Mechanika is amazing.

I love this series. The story is so interesting and the art is gorgeous. This is what all steampunk comics should aspire to be.

As I loved the first, I was excited to read this volume. I'm happy to report this one delivers the same entertainment and beautiful artwork as the first! I loved the story, and as always enjoyed the characters in this one!

I've read the previous volume, and the graphics continues to amaze me. It must be the best I’ve met in any comics, or it just suits perfectly my tastes in this matter: the attention to details, the beautiful curves, just the right mix of époque and steampunk, even the gear contours. Great and interesting story - I liked it even better than the first Mechanika storyline.

I thought it a very well-developed world, but a lot happened, so I'm looking forward to reading the third for further explanation.

It was a nice sequel to the first part and I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I am just not interested in this book anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience.

A slightly different take than in the first arc (which I read last month): this time, the story follows Mechanika from London to mysterious ruins on the African continent, following the trail of an old researcher who’s being forced to decrypt strange tablets under the threat of seeing his granddaughter killed. It’s not exactly the same kind of theme, and although some aspects were a bit cliché (of course the bad guys had to be German), I still appreciate it because… hey, let’s be honest, I do like myself a good old Victorian/early 20th century adventure with archaeologist-like people, secret societies, and, yes, in small quantities, even German bad guys. ;)

On the other hand, this volume didn’t bring anything to the bigger story hinted at in the first instalments (Mechanika’s origins, the history she shares with Commander Winter, the Engineer…), and I admit I would’ve liked to get a few more hints. It also keeps playing on the evil bad guy/female enforcer tropes, which, well, why not, but I hope this kind of dynamics will change later.

The drawing style remains detailed, with vivid colours that get more muted as they adapt to the various atmospheres of day and night. There’s still a lot of eye-candy, however this time I felt it took slightly less precedence depending on the scenes and panels (seriously, huge boobs and perceived sexy poses aren’t necessarily as exciting as they sound when it comes to depicting heroo-types characters… or, well, any character at all). And perhaps there were a few less walls of text, too? I read it in public transportation so I didn’t pay as much attention to that aspect I had noted in the first volume, to be honest.

Conclusion: The storyline remained entertaining, though definitely on the cliché side, and I can only hope this won’t last; nevertheless, large boobs over corsets notwithstanding, I liked the artwork.

I was thoroughly engrossed in this volume of the series! The art is just gorgeous and lush, but still easy to follow, which I often find to not be the case when the art is as fantastic as it is here. If your patrons like steampunk and/or comics, this is a definite purchase!