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Wayward
Wayward, Vol. 2: Ties That Bind
After the traumatizing finale of volume one, everything has changed for our supernatural teens. Who is Ohara and how does she fit into the great pattern of destiny and power that will change Japan forever? Jim Zub (Conan/Red Sonja, Samurai Jack) and Steve Cummings (Deadshot, Legends of the Dark Knight) continue their supernatural spectacle that combines the camaraderie and emotion of shows like Buffy with Japan's engaging culture and mythic monsters. This volume includes design artwork by artist Steve Cummings and profiles on mythical creatures by noted monster researcher Zack Davisson.
Collects Wayward #6-10.
Collects Wayward #6-10.
136 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2015
12 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Jim Zub
938 books312 followersJim Zub is a writer, artist and art instructor based in Toronto, Canada. Over the past fifteen years he’s worked for a diverse array of publishing, movie and video game clients including Disney, Warner Bros., Capcom, Hasbro, Bandai-Namco and Mattel.
He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer and Program Coordinator for Seneca College‘s award-winning Animation program.
He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer and Program Coordinator for Seneca College‘s award-winning Animation program.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
September 17, 2016
Set three months after the end of the first volume, we’re introduced to a new main character from the start: Ohara Emi, another Japanese teenager in Rori’s school who’s suddenly begun manifesting magical powers for no reason. And, though it’s only the second volume, this is where I say goodbye to Wayward!
My biggest complaint about the first book was Jim Zub’s sloppy writing – he introduced the characters poorly while failing to establish the story or explain how and why anything was happening. His writing manages to get worse in this one! Considering he’s done the bare minimum of work on the too-many characters we’ve already met, presenting us with a new one in Ohara Emi probably wasn’t the best move. She’s also not the most interesting character and doesn’t seem to add anything to the group anyway.
The bat samurais (referred to as “kitsunes” by Ohara – “kitsune” is “fox” in Japanese though these guys look nothing like foxes) continue to be plot devices rather than characters while nothing more is learned about the boater hat dude. In fact we see an entirely new villain here with the spider witch! Like the others, she remains one-dimensional and her relation to whatever’s going on remains nebulous at best.
New adversaries appear like the purple-faced dildo-nosed bad guy who arbitrarily wants to fight the teens (probably because he’s pissed about having a dildo for a nose) and Rori manifests new powers for no reason (and still no explanation for how or why she has these powers or what the glowing strings are or mean) but are really useful for what she needs to do – they may as well be called Deus Ex Machina powers!
Steve Cummings’ art and the colourist team’s work is still top-notch and Wayward is a great-looking comic, but I’m too fed up with Zub’s incompetent storytelling to keep plugging away at this series. It’s not as bad but it’s like Nick Spencer’s Morning Glories all over again! Wayward, Volume 2: Ties That Bind compounds the mess of the first book making what little story there is even more inscrutable – this book and series isn’t worth bothering with.
My biggest complaint about the first book was Jim Zub’s sloppy writing – he introduced the characters poorly while failing to establish the story or explain how and why anything was happening. His writing manages to get worse in this one! Considering he’s done the bare minimum of work on the too-many characters we’ve already met, presenting us with a new one in Ohara Emi probably wasn’t the best move. She’s also not the most interesting character and doesn’t seem to add anything to the group anyway.
The bat samurais (referred to as “kitsunes” by Ohara – “kitsune” is “fox” in Japanese though these guys look nothing like foxes) continue to be plot devices rather than characters while nothing more is learned about the boater hat dude. In fact we see an entirely new villain here with the spider witch! Like the others, she remains one-dimensional and her relation to whatever’s going on remains nebulous at best.
New adversaries appear like the purple-faced dildo-nosed bad guy who arbitrarily wants to fight the teens (probably because he’s pissed about having a dildo for a nose) and Rori manifests new powers for no reason (and still no explanation for how or why she has these powers or what the glowing strings are or mean) but are really useful for what she needs to do – they may as well be called Deus Ex Machina powers!
Steve Cummings’ art and the colourist team’s work is still top-notch and Wayward is a great-looking comic, but I’m too fed up with Zub’s incompetent storytelling to keep plugging away at this series. It’s not as bad but it’s like Nick Spencer’s Morning Glories all over again! Wayward, Volume 2: Ties That Bind compounds the mess of the first book making what little story there is even more inscrutable – this book and series isn’t worth bothering with.
March 22, 2022
I love everything about this book. Great art and coloring. Great story. It's basically Buffy in Japan. Zub has done a great job of bringing Japanese mythology to life and creating an engaging story.
October 1, 2018
Everything the first one was...but fuller. Which is a good thing, everything is more fleshed out now and I have a better idea of where things are headed.
The art is still FANTASTIC and overall the whole vibe of the book is exactly what I am in the mood for. A nice YA feeling, slightly manga(ish), character adventure.
The art is still FANTASTIC and overall the whole vibe of the book is exactly what I am in the mood for. A nice YA feeling, slightly manga(ish), character adventure.
April 12, 2020
Un segundo volumen genial, si queréis saber más podéis ver la reseña del volumen 1 que me encantó. Es un comic super interesante, de los mejores que he leído.
Es una historia sobrenatural fantástica que se ambienta en Japón. Rori ha vivido un trágico momento que lo ha cambiando todo entre ella y todos sus compañeros con poderes diferentes a ella.
Ahora tendrá que luchar para cambiar su destino y el de ellos, pero se encontrará con muchos seres que intentarán dominarla para ser los dueños del destino. Rori tendrá que intentar derrotarlos e intentar no cambiarlo todo, pues el destino de Japón está en sus manos.
Un comic emocionante, con partes brillantes llenas de acción y fantasía. Momentos dramáticos y emotivos y unos gráficos de 10. Me ha encantado y lo recomiendo muchísimo.
Es una historia sobrenatural fantástica que se ambienta en Japón. Rori ha vivido un trágico momento que lo ha cambiando todo entre ella y todos sus compañeros con poderes diferentes a ella.
Ahora tendrá que luchar para cambiar su destino y el de ellos, pero se encontrará con muchos seres que intentarán dominarla para ser los dueños del destino. Rori tendrá que intentar derrotarlos e intentar no cambiarlo todo, pues el destino de Japón está en sus manos.
Un comic emocionante, con partes brillantes llenas de acción y fantasía. Momentos dramáticos y emotivos y unos gráficos de 10. Me ha encantado y lo recomiendo muchísimo.
April 10, 2016
Great character development and insight on their lives. More of the magic and lore is explained. And of course the kickass fight scenes and the cool new girl!
February 18, 2025
Better paced than the previous volume, and actually answered enough of my questions to not outright drop the series. We shift perspective just enough to diversify, but still the dialogue feels wooden/too matter of fact. The occasional fuck is thrown in cuz teenagers.
The plot does jump around a bit, and the powers are briefly talked about, but the actual action is....lacking. Book still looks great, and there's a lot of Japanese history baked in. Its still missing something, more concrete to make it worth my time. Concerning the protagonist who self harms also just wipes someone's memory of their child but I guess when you have magical powers nobody stops you.
The plot does jump around a bit, and the powers are briefly talked about, but the actual action is....lacking. Book still looks great, and there's a lot of Japanese history baked in. Its still missing something, more concrete to make it worth my time. Concerning the protagonist who self harms also just wipes someone's memory of their child but I guess when you have magical powers nobody stops you.
March 20, 2018
I had read the first volume again before starting.
Cliffhanger ending aside there are lots of stuff going on in these graphic novels.
Story keeps my eyes glued to the pages and I love reading the articles at the end.
Japanese mythology is relatively unknown to me and I loved the feeling of discovery!
Cliffhanger ending aside there are lots of stuff going on in these graphic novels.
Story keeps my eyes glued to the pages and I love reading the articles at the end.
Japanese mythology is relatively unknown to me and I loved the feeling of discovery!
September 6, 2015
The story starts to come together in book 2, seems like the series is getting stronger. The art is amazing, some of the best I have seen in a comic.
February 29, 2016
The arts remain very good, the story improves a little.
October 14, 2017
Good follow up to the first volume. I like the introduction of new characters and the solving of some mysteries.
April 24, 2021
A new viewpoint character, and the plot gets ramped way up in this volume.
June 16, 2025
The creators keep the moment they had going from the first volume and expand their world in a satisfying way. Not much to say other than that.
June 12, 2020
Este es el segundo volumen de seis tomos. ¡¡¡ATENCIÓN!!! Puede contener spoiler del primero. Podéis ver aquí la reseña de Wayward, Volumen Uno: Teoría de cuerdas.
Teoría de cuerdas concluyó con una escena muy dramática: el edificio donde vivía Rori explotó en miles de pedazos. Ahora Rori está muerta, o eso creen. Ohara Emi, una adolescente normal y corriente del mismo instituto de Rori, comienza a obsesionarse con el trágico final de la joven. Una noche comienza a tener visiones de ella, al mismo tiempo que surge una magia que llevaba en su interior. Un poder desconocido que no sabrá controlar. Por otro lado, el grupo unido y liderado por Rori se ha roto, pues ya solo quedan Ayane y Nikaido, pero una amenaza cada vez mayor se acerca.
En este tomo tenemos un nuevo personaje: Ohara. Ohara es una chica adolescente con una personalidad y gustos propios pero que se ve eclipsada por sus padres. Estos quieren convertirla en una chica de bien, es decir, una mujer de provecho para que posteriormente pueda contraer matrimonio. Todo lo contrario de lo que ella quiere realmente. Por ello mantiene una relación bastante fría con su familia. Además, tendremos nuevos yokais, a cual más increíble y temible.
En Lazos que unen vamos a conocer nuevas cosillas sobre los poderes de los protagonistas y el principio de una explicación sobre esos lazos rojos que van uniendo a las personas. Es algo confuso, pero tened en cuenta que es el segundo tomo de seis. El ritmo del cómic es totalmente trepidante. La acción ya comienza desde el primer capítulo y no va a dar respiro al lector en ningún momento. También tendremos algún que otro momento oscuro. Los diálogos son muy dinámicos y totalmente naturales, lo que hace que la historia sea mucho más real.
En cuanto al apartado artístico, nos remitimos a lo que ya dijimos. Este es alucinante, y supera mucho al primero. Es un dibujo muy bien hecho y detallado y súper dinámico en las escenas de acción, que no son pocas. Es, además, un dibujo realista y con una influencia marcada del manga. El color, muy brillante en las escenas de magia, también ha sido una buenísima elección y corre a cargo de una serie de artistas.
La edición, este primer volumen contiene los capítulos del seis al diez de la saga. Así mismo, al final encontramos un anexo o contenido extra muy interesante, pero muchísimo. Tendremos bocetos del diseño de los personajes con anotaciones a mano sobre cómo deben ser físicamente y su estilo de vestir y los principales yokais que aparecen en este volumen: su historia y orígenes, características, evolución, etc. Además, algunas cosas del Japón mágica, desmintiendo otras leyendas. Con esto también vamos a conocer parte de la cultura social de los japoneses.
En conclusión, una historia trepidante llena de acción, magia, sacrificios y muertes en un Japón totalmente folclórico. Una historia muy bien construida y escrita, dinámica, atractiva con un dibujo alucinante, que va mejorando con cada tomo. Una buenísima elección y muy recomendable para los amantes de los cómics, de la fantasía y de Japón.
https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...
Teoría de cuerdas concluyó con una escena muy dramática: el edificio donde vivía Rori explotó en miles de pedazos. Ahora Rori está muerta, o eso creen. Ohara Emi, una adolescente normal y corriente del mismo instituto de Rori, comienza a obsesionarse con el trágico final de la joven. Una noche comienza a tener visiones de ella, al mismo tiempo que surge una magia que llevaba en su interior. Un poder desconocido que no sabrá controlar. Por otro lado, el grupo unido y liderado por Rori se ha roto, pues ya solo quedan Ayane y Nikaido, pero una amenaza cada vez mayor se acerca.
En este tomo tenemos un nuevo personaje: Ohara. Ohara es una chica adolescente con una personalidad y gustos propios pero que se ve eclipsada por sus padres. Estos quieren convertirla en una chica de bien, es decir, una mujer de provecho para que posteriormente pueda contraer matrimonio. Todo lo contrario de lo que ella quiere realmente. Por ello mantiene una relación bastante fría con su familia. Además, tendremos nuevos yokais, a cual más increíble y temible.
En Lazos que unen vamos a conocer nuevas cosillas sobre los poderes de los protagonistas y el principio de una explicación sobre esos lazos rojos que van uniendo a las personas. Es algo confuso, pero tened en cuenta que es el segundo tomo de seis. El ritmo del cómic es totalmente trepidante. La acción ya comienza desde el primer capítulo y no va a dar respiro al lector en ningún momento. También tendremos algún que otro momento oscuro. Los diálogos son muy dinámicos y totalmente naturales, lo que hace que la historia sea mucho más real.
En cuanto al apartado artístico, nos remitimos a lo que ya dijimos. Este es alucinante, y supera mucho al primero. Es un dibujo muy bien hecho y detallado y súper dinámico en las escenas de acción, que no son pocas. Es, además, un dibujo realista y con una influencia marcada del manga. El color, muy brillante en las escenas de magia, también ha sido una buenísima elección y corre a cargo de una serie de artistas.
La edición, este primer volumen contiene los capítulos del seis al diez de la saga. Así mismo, al final encontramos un anexo o contenido extra muy interesante, pero muchísimo. Tendremos bocetos del diseño de los personajes con anotaciones a mano sobre cómo deben ser físicamente y su estilo de vestir y los principales yokais que aparecen en este volumen: su historia y orígenes, características, evolución, etc. Además, algunas cosas del Japón mágica, desmintiendo otras leyendas. Con esto también vamos a conocer parte de la cultura social de los japoneses.
En conclusión, una historia trepidante llena de acción, magia, sacrificios y muertes en un Japón totalmente folclórico. Una historia muy bien construida y escrita, dinámica, atractiva con un dibujo alucinante, que va mejorando con cada tomo. Una buenísima elección y muy recomendable para los amantes de los cómics, de la fantasía y de Japón.
https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...
May 19, 2016
In this book we meet a new teen with special powers named Ohara. She as an interesting addition to the story. Rori and Shirai are presumed dead (but possibly just missing) after what happened in the first book. That leaves Ayane (the car girl) and Nikaido (emotion manipulating boy) on their own to fight the evil Yokai that seem to be getting more and more prevalent.
The whole thing comes to a head when Ohara, Ayane, and Nikaido form an unlikely alliance and finally decide to take action to cut off the Yokai’s power. Meanwhile Rori really comes into her own powers as she figures out how to use her weaving ability to reweave pretty much anything she wants.
The illustration and color is beautifully detailed and wonderfully bright. I really loved it and it’s one of my favorite things about these graphic novels. The story was much better than the last volume as well; we get more history and a broader story that is more engaging.
I loved that there was a short box explaining “the story so far” in the front of the book (love it when the authors of a book give me a quick refresher). I also really loved the explanation of Japanese mythology and history of it at the end of the book which was done by Zack Davisson; this was an awesome read and incredibly interesting.
Overall this was a well done continuation of the Wayward series and I liked it better than the first book. The illustration and color are amazing. The characters and story are growing on me and getting increasingly interesting. I loved the section on Japanese mythology at the back of the book. I would recommend to YA and older readers who enjoy urban fantasy type graphic novels.
The whole thing comes to a head when Ohara, Ayane, and Nikaido form an unlikely alliance and finally decide to take action to cut off the Yokai’s power. Meanwhile Rori really comes into her own powers as she figures out how to use her weaving ability to reweave pretty much anything she wants.
The illustration and color is beautifully detailed and wonderfully bright. I really loved it and it’s one of my favorite things about these graphic novels. The story was much better than the last volume as well; we get more history and a broader story that is more engaging.
I loved that there was a short box explaining “the story so far” in the front of the book (love it when the authors of a book give me a quick refresher). I also really loved the explanation of Japanese mythology and history of it at the end of the book which was done by Zack Davisson; this was an awesome read and incredibly interesting.
Overall this was a well done continuation of the Wayward series and I liked it better than the first book. The illustration and color are amazing. The characters and story are growing on me and getting increasingly interesting. I loved the section on Japanese mythology at the back of the book. I would recommend to YA and older readers who enjoy urban fantasy type graphic novels.
July 16, 2016
Meh. The plot moves forward. I think it was trying to be profound with the end panel, but because the Web/Weave is still a bit vague to readers—ok, they’re all connected? And?—nothing particularly new was found out. (Or maybe I missed something.) There’s bad guys who are trying to stop the good guys and we only know they’re bad because we’re told they are. Oh, and they killed the MC’s mother. And the good guys are all teenagers, so they must be good. Obviously the sides are clear cut. And surely the main characters are not messing with something they don’t understand.
Anyway. Kind of meh. I almost stopped reading after the first few pages of this one because the whole “she reads manga to escape from reality” thing. Like. Sure. Some do. But not all girls and each situation is different. Can we try not to make cliche females here?
What some people might be uncomfortable reading about in this book because of personal opinion or belief: mild cursing throughout. I think there was more violence on Ayane’s part. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, overall, for a YA comic book.
Anyway. Kind of meh. I almost stopped reading after the first few pages of this one because the whole “she reads manga to escape from reality” thing. Like. Sure. Some do. But not all girls and each situation is different. Can we try not to make cliche females here?
What some people might be uncomfortable reading about in this book because of personal opinion or belief: mild cursing throughout. I think there was more violence on Ayane’s part. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, overall, for a YA comic book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2016
So I though I had gotten a different, enhanced version of volume 1 in my humble bundle, but it was actually a combination of volume 1 and volume 2 and a bunch of extra stuff at the back with more information about things.
So that was more of a win than I thought it would be. haha.
There was a new character added, new information about one of our original characters, and Rori seems to really come into her own with her powers. The ending is a cliffhanger of sorts, but not in the same way as volume 1.
I'm interested to see what happens with the group in volume 3 now that they are all together. Will there be more new ones? How will they defeat all the things they are fighting against? And prayers for so many less spiders. Yuck. :P
So that was more of a win than I thought it would be. haha.
There was a new character added, new information about one of our original characters, and Rori seems to really come into her own with her powers. The ending is a cliffhanger of sorts, but not in the same way as volume 1.
I'm interested to see what happens with the group in volume 3 now that they are all together. Will there be more new ones? How will they defeat all the things they are fighting against? And prayers for so many less spiders. Yuck. :P
October 9, 2015
FANTASTIC. Wayward vol. 2 is ten times better than the first volume. The artwork is quite simply some of the best illustrations I have seen in comics today. The full spread pages are just plain beautiful. The cast of characters are really starting to grow on me. I loved the fact that writer Jim Zub introduces a new character in this volume and reintroduces us into this modern Japanese myth from a totally different perspective. This series feels like it should be written as part of the Marvel or DC comic universe. This series is just getting better and better. I agreed with all the good read reviews this great series.
November 28, 2015
The 2nd volume of Wayward turned out to be a major disappointment. It's a shame, really. This series had so much going for it with its gorgeous art, setting, and haunting lore. But the real flaws lie with the characters and the story (or lack thereof). One thing these two aspects have in common is there major lack of development. The characters remain two-dimensional teens with very few traits to speak of, making it very difficult to care for any of them. The same goes for the story which I can’t really make sense of. I know it’s only the second volume, but I haven’t the slightest idea of what’s going on.
November 4, 2015
This volume is well in the continuity of the 1st. The art was amazing sometimes and great the rest of the pages, it's a pleasure to discover each new scene.
Some new characters appear in these issues, with new and interesting powers and, of course, there were lots of fights again, well depicted and gory. All the questions are far from being addressed so it's not possible at the moment to understand everything and the end was a bit weird. I hope the story will move to something good in the next volume.
Some new characters appear in these issues, with new and interesting powers and, of course, there were lots of fights again, well depicted and gory. All the questions are far from being addressed so it's not possible at the moment to understand everything and the end was a bit weird. I hope the story will move to something good in the next volume.
October 5, 2015
Still waiting to find out what exactly is going on. There's a pattern, Rori can affect it. The others she's drawing together have some interesting powers, but it's not clear exactly who they are or where they came from or what the forces are that oppose them. Old gods and new gods of Japan? We shall see. The end pages/notes about ties to Japanese mythology are interesting - I liked reading about where some of the ideas for the series came from.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2016
Well, the tag-line "Buffy in Japan" could fit this but it is much more. Yes, there are supernatural elements and there are teenagers fighting said supernatural elements. But there's more. There's new gods and old ones. There's some political movement. And then there's the AWESOME essays from Zack Davisson. Man, oh man, what a treat. It tells us about the creatures we encounter in Wayward and it also tells us some of Japan's history. It truly is interesting and well worth the read.
February 27, 2018
As in in first volume the plot takes us to places we already met in 1000 other stories. It's done okay I guess, but misses the point completely.
The story itself take place in japan, but you could easily move it to America and not change a thing. It's only in japan because the writer wanted to use Japanese mythology, the rest of it feels American.
I'll keep on reading, mostly because it's not so bad, and I've already started, but also cause I bought the whole series already on a whim.
The story itself take place in japan, but you could easily move it to America and not change a thing. It's only in japan because the writer wanted to use Japanese mythology, the rest of it feels American.
I'll keep on reading, mostly because it's not so bad, and I've already started, but also cause I bought the whole series already on a whim.
February 6, 2016
Pros: Got a little lost in the beginning, but caught up quickly. I like Emi; she is normal without being washed out. Ayane/Niki dynamic works. Definitely can't trust the spiders.
Cons: How Rori comes back is not really explained. Neither is the makeup/purpose of the villains. Rori/Lori...Ayane issues are also kind of weird.
Cons: How Rori comes back is not really explained. Neither is the makeup/purpose of the villains. Rori/Lori...Ayane issues are also kind of weird.
January 18, 2016
A young Japanese girl comes into her powers and joins a group of teens fighting yokai.
As a bit of a Japanophile, I've had a decent exposure to yokai from a Japanese perspective. For this reason, I really appreciated the material in the back of the book. The author clearly did his research and I'm encouraged to do even more.
I'm curious to see where the story goes for here.
As a bit of a Japanophile, I've had a decent exposure to yokai from a Japanese perspective. For this reason, I really appreciated the material in the back of the book. The author clearly did his research and I'm encouraged to do even more.
I'm curious to see where the story goes for here.
March 23, 2019
This second volume of Wayward amped up the volume. More tension, depth of character, conflict, backstory, mythology, and of course, that colourful, gorgeous art. I preferred this volume to "String Theory" as it already had momentum and made more sense as a cohesive story. New protagonist for this volume, with fan favourites returning.
March 12, 2016
I love this comic's stupid face.
Volume One does a couple of unexpected things and then volume two? Well that just asks us what we think we know about this series and then does everything the opposite.
The art, the backmatter, the story. Eurgh. Just love it.
Volume One does a couple of unexpected things and then volume two? Well that just asks us what we think we know about this series and then does everything the opposite.
The art, the backmatter, the story. Eurgh. Just love it.
Want to read
August 16, 2015Perfect birthday present!! August 26th, you are a wonderful date! ^^
June 15, 2017
This series is such an interesting story. I am really enjoying it. I am intrigue to see where this story is heading towards. (own these in single issues)
April 26, 2016
Another great installment in the Wayward series.
July 17, 2016
Volume 2 continues the story with gorgeous artwork and an action-packed story. I love the extras in the back of the book that detail Zub's sources from Japanese history and legend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews