This volume collects the story of The Tablet of Destinies. As the title alludes, we are getting ready to set forth on an Indiana Jones style adventure. Secret societies, cryptology, imperial territory, dirigibles; all the perfect tropes for Lady Mechanika to go on a Victorian adventure to, the dark continent ... Africa!

Mr. Lewis returns as Lady Mechanika's steadfast, if inebriated, mechanic, inventor, mad genius extraordinaire. The good doctor has vaguely vanished and been replaced with an archaeology professor on a quest for whatever secrets archaeologists are hoping to uncover.

Of course, they end up finding it and it ends up being cataclysmically horrific. Then enter the secret societies and cryptology and you have another smashing adventure with Lady Mechanika.

While everything is an overdone stereotype in this series, I like it's over the top nature and honestly found a compelling revelation at the ending. These comics have some substance underneath all the pomp and steampunk. I also really enjoy the art and typeface.

In the next exciting installment of Lady Mechanika, reader's are given a glimpse of her mysterious past through the young woman in a similar situation to her own. Whether she survives as Lady Mechanika survived is up to the reader to find out.

I found volume 2 to be much more enjoyable than volume one! The plot picked up significantly and there were some major character developments which I absolutely loved!

I'm glad I took a chance on this book. I wasn't impressed with first volume because it felt like it dragged on and on. The story is set in an alternate Victorian England with science fiction elements mixed in. Volume two picks up on a thread from the end of the first volume, but goes off in another direction.

The story reminds me of The Mummy. Much of it is set in Egypt and it involves a search for an ancient artifact. Lady Mechanika's relationships with the various characters worked well. There are some tropes used throughout the volume, but the creators execute them wonderfully. It is a fun adventure story that roams across the heart of Africa. And the art is great again. It shows off a range of skill from the creators. This book made me interested in continuing the series.

I thought it was impossible to like the second volume more than I did the first one, but apparently it is possible! Terrific art combined with a great adventure story and a lot of old fashioned codes and riddles. Absolutely perfect!

Lady Mechanika’s journey starts when a stranger knocks at her door. A daring adventure: to find an old weapon in the heart of Africa while trying to be one step ahead of the secret societies that would love to get their hands on the artefact. But things never run smoothly for the Lady and when she is confronted with a life threatening choice, what will she choose?

First of all, the artwork is breathtaking. Even though the story takes place outside the city designed in the first volume, Steampunk is still very much present and still as beautiful as before. Furthermore, the supernatural is also still present and for me it was even more detailed than in the first volume

The storyline was very nice to read even though I was a bit disappointed not to see a direct connection to the first graphic novel. I would have enjoyed seeing the development of Lady Mechanika’s search for her maker. Even so, I loved every minute of this reading and I was addicted to it until the very end.

I can’t wait to see what surprises the next volume will bring!

What a great continuation!! These stories are so original, or maybe i don't meet enought abiout them, that just make me smile.

This second volume was even better than the first! The artwork, as I'd come to expect after the first volume, was still great. It is amazing and really one of the best things about this comic. I liked this story better than the first, even though it is not that original (typical ancient treasure kind of thing). Still it was a pleasure to read. There is still a lot of text on some pages, but I had the feeling it was slightly less this time. Lady Mechanika makes a really nice lead in this steampunk comic.

Looking forward to more!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In the continuing adventures of Lady Mechanika, this volume travels to Africa where a man is searching for a lost city and the secret to alchemy. Once again, the art is fantastic and this time around some of it has an exotic flair because of the location. This remains a must-read for fans of steampunk and adventure comics.

In the second volume of the Lady Mechanika series, the mechanically modified heroine is joined by a spunky young genius named Winifred, as well as a band of female warriors from the Congo. These comics are extremely girl-power oriented, and I am 100% here for it. The story line in this volume was just as interesting as the first volume, and the artwork continues to be stunning.

Lady Mechanika is contacted by Winifred, a young friend whose grandfather has gone missing in Africa, after she was almost kidnapped by a German speaking man. Her search led her to the Rosicrucian Club in London, then to Germany and finally to Africa. Along the way, Winifred is kidnapped, reclaimed, and kidnapped again. There are airship battles, desert treks, strange serpent men, and ancient weapons before the explosive ending. A very satisfying steam-punk adventure!

Lady Mechanika Volume 2: Tablet of Destinies continues the beautiful drawings from Volume 1 but gives us a better story to accompany the graphics. Yes, it clearly has some of the characteristics of Indiana Jones but there are some unique changes and subversion of the expected cliches. The playing with the trope was subtle and would, to many eyes, go unnoticed and make this look like simply a rehash of a previous tried and true story.

Chen's writing makes all the difference in the world. Enough exposition to make this truly a graphic novel as compared to just a comic book but with enough wonderfully rendered action to give a good representation of how the graphics can enhance a novel. Like others have mentioned, this is not really a sequel to Volume 1 and as such is a little disappointing. If the reason is that Chen didn't think continuing a weak story was worthwhile, I understand, perhaps they can do a short piece to wrap up some of Volume 1's loose ends?

I would recommend this to fans of both steampunk and graphic novels in general. The story is paced very well and the artwork is, as I've said, exquisite.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Volume Two collects the six issues of the second comic arc, the Tablet of Destinies. According to Sumerian legend, anyone who possesses the tablet can rule the world. The action starts right away, as Winifred, Professor Thomsen's granddaughter is kidnapped and Lady Mechanika can't quite catch up to the men that did it. As a result, Mechanika goes hunting for Winifred and in the process has to save the world instead of finding out more about her origins. There are wonderful clockwork creations in this volume, just as there was in the first. There are also clockwork touches around the panels of some pages, a fun touch in keeping with the steampunk Victoriana. It's a very fun and action packed story in this arc, chasing down the team that kidnapped Winifred and trying to find Professor Thomsen. It's a new antagonist from the first volume, and the group is concerned with ultimate power. The story plays out very much like Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones. If you enjoy that kind of plot line, this is a much easier way to get into this world and story than the first. We see a little more warmth in Mechanika in this volume, especially with how kind she is to Winifred and the stories she tells about meeting Professor Thomsen.

This was enjoyable enough. The action/adventure bits are pretty fun still and I liked the change of scenery as Mechanika set out to save Winifred. The artwork is still a bit too Escher Girls at times (though a couple of times they had her more covered up and somewhat less buxom so that was nice), but there was a bit of character development and some fun moments between Mechanika and Fred (Fred was cute and spunky and fun). I did kinda laugh at the villain reveal though it does fit well enough with the Victorian/steampunk feel of the comics (but also kinda came out of nowhere. I would've liked more foreshadowing that it would go that way, like maybe something in the lore that the Professor and Strassman were studying that would suggest it). The hidden village of women warriors was fun (though the dialect did seem a bit iffy) and I'm glad Akina got to join in all the fun (and that the Queen's comments set up some possibly connection to Mechanika's mysterious backstory). I'll probably give a look to Vol. 3 and see what other antics Mechanika gets in to.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Mechanika Vol 2: The Tablet of Destinies by Joe Benitez is another tour de force of strong storytelling and beautiful artwork that is sure to bring even more fans to this steampunk, adventurous and mystery solving title.

When an unexpected visitor shows up on her door, Lady Mechanika embarks on an adventure that spans the globe. Secret societies and mad scientists stand in her path and soon Lady Mechanika must decide between the life of her young friend and saving the world.

This second volume which collects The Tablet of Destinies run, books #1 - #6 continues the adventures of Lady Mechanika and this may very well be one of the most beautifully drawn and inked books in the comic book world right now. The intricate detailing from the artists shows a definite respect for the genre. But this book does not rely on artwork alone and tells a well crafted tale as well. I enjoyed the more adventurous aspects of the story this time around where Mechanika almost took on a Tomb Raider persona. But don't mislead ourselves, the time period and setting are well in hand here as Mechanika works her way through the supernatural as well as dangers of powerful societies searching for absolute power.

Another terrific book by Benitez!

I picked it up several times but was never drawn to the story or its illustrations. I fear it is too steampunky for me.

Much better than the previous volume. The addition of Maria Chen to the writing team really helped tone down the amount of exposition and pepped up the dialogue. I didn't notice the American version of "cockneyed" talk nearly as much as the first volume. The story was also much more straight forward and moved ahead at a faster pace.

More of the same as volume 1: steampunk, evil bad guys, and twists. While the plot wasn't anything overly original, it was fairly well done, and beautifully drawn. As long as Benitez is involved in this series, I'll keep reading.

Downloaded in error - ie before I'd had the chance to see how bad volume 1 was.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to mark this as Did Not Finish. I read part of the first volume and lost interest about 25% of the way through.

Mechanika volume 2 is a very new and different story from the last volume. Instead of a quest for Mechankia’s past we are thrown into an expedition to find a lost city of ancients in Africa that may hold the Tablet of Destinies. A piece that could change the world as we know it, but no one knows what it is, only that it means power.


This volume was action-packed, lots of new characters are introduced and there is a lot of mystery. It was a lot of fun to read and follow Lady Mechanika on her travels to find first an abducted child then her grandfather. Again like in volume 1 the drawing is incredible, there is so much detail in all the images. The clothing was marvelous again as well.

Mechanika stays the strong female lead from the first volume but also shows some of her more human side in this installment with a child involved. It was a great story and read!