Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ for the ARC! I haven't read the first volume (oops) so I had a little bit of a difficult time figuring out what was going on, but I still enjoyed this! I liked the main characters and it was very action-packed. Would definitely recommend to many of my students, since manga and Spider-Man are both hits among them.

A first foray into SPIDER-MAN: OCTO-GIRL almost feels a bit like a stunt. The makers even admitted that a large part of their reason for making this comic was a desire to create something weird in the Marvel canon. But as much as it kicks off feeling like a one-off joke, the second volume proves that there's more to this story than a weird bit of pub quiz trivia.

As the story continues - much like the duo's MY HERO ACADEMIA: VIGILANTES - SPIDER-MAN: OCTO-GIRL interrogates the line between hero and villain. What makes a person one or the other? What, in fact, makes a person neither - not hero or villain, but simply a complex and flawed human who doesn't have to commit to becoming either? As this second volume closes, Otoha sees the toll that such a reflection has taken on her former best friend, Taka Toma. And while friends slowly join up, including would-be magical girl Kirika, things are looking somewhat dire for Doc Ock and his erstwhile group of schoolgirl "allies."

The second volume of SPIDER-MAN: OCTO-GIRL continues to sport fantastic art and character designs. And the duo's ability to bring established Marvel characters and identities into a decidedly manga-coded setting is wonderful to see. This is, truly, one of the best Marvel manga tie-ins to date. Get past the apparent jokiness of the concept, and there's a lot of heart and drama to be had.

4.5 stars rounded down. I love this series, and I'm so glad I received ARC's of the first two volumes. Furuhashi is just so brilliant and fun when it comes to building on already created characters. I've loved everything by him.

Volume 2 of Octo-Girl really focuses on Superior Octopus and Taka Toma, Otoha's childhood friend. Loved the conflict and I'm excited to read more.

Octo-girl is fun! One of the things I like about super hero stories is their ability to be both silly and serious, depending on the storyline. In this volume, for example, some of it is comedic with Doc Oct's shenanigans ,but is also balances themes of lost dreams, and characters that define "grey area." Oh, hi, Superior Octopus! It's a good read!

Furuhashi continues strong in this second installment of this Marvel-savvy, yet totally unique, manga.

As the schoolgirls’ and the supervillain’s tale unfolds Furuhashi continues to play well off of Doc Oct’s duel nature, giving him a pragmatic form of virtue while keeping constantly in sight the fact he is not a functional individual. With the addition of Superior Octopus to the narrative we get to see that same personality turned ideologically inside out and how little change that actually makes. The battle with a running commentary of octo-pontification vs. octo-pontification in the first half of the volume is particularly great fun.

This volume almost completely sidelines Deirogi (apart from a very nice battle scene) in order to expand on the story of Maruko, but hopefully we can get equal billing from here on out as all the major characters now have backstories. A new character is introduced with the somewhat cringeworthy trope of the humorous stalker, yet even in this case we have a nice bit of time devoted to them going about life in normal mode. The octopus talk interchapter comments are sometimes interesting to explain the Marvel references which are at times a bit dense, but sometimes these notes feel a bit too eager to explain every storytelling decision.

The ending, alongside the illumination of Toma‘s backstory, seems to be bringing us towards an interesting antagonist and an even more interesting team-up, as the power of “Friendship, is it?” (to quote Doc Ock) begins to slowly dissolve away both manga-style and Marvel-style dysfunctionalities.

VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.

The first volume of this manga was a lot of fun. I was hoping for that to continue here with volume 2 which serves up the next eight chapters of the serial.

The story really ramps up with this one, especially on the action front. The stakes are raised as Okutamiya's world and Ock's coming crashing together. The confrontations are intense with the dynamic art carrying the reader on this roller-coaster ride. The themes of friendship and relationships are also very strong and universal.

I appreciate that each chapter ends with an "Octopus Talk" page by Furuhashi that gives more insight into the characters and story line.

Lastly, the additional bonus material of "The Marvels" was a feast for the eyes.

I look forward to the Octo-Girl story continuing in the next volume.