Chuck Palahniuk’s sequel to his 1996 classic is out this month in the form of a graphic novel.

The Fight Club 2 miniseries, featuring artwork by Cameron Stewart, is set 10 years after Project Mayhem, the point where the original book, and also the film, ended.
“The protagonist”, as he is always referred to in the book, lives a mundane, suburban life with his wife, child and pills. His story takes place alternately in the future and the past and he is married to an equally problematic Marla Singer.

They have a nine-year-old son named Junior, though the narrator is failing his son in the same way his dad failed him.

Palahniuk had previously indicated that the original novel was largely about absent fathers and how that affects men. With no distinct male role-models in their lives, the Narrator and Tyler Durden had largely accepted the role of men in society as it has been presented to them by advertising.

Much of the original Fight Club presented consumerism as the opiate for the emptiness in modern life. The idea of young men being marginalised in one way or another by modern society, and often reacting with self-destructive aggressiveness, struck a note with millions of readers. The film adaptation is considered a modern classic. Talking about this illustrated sequel, Palahniuk said it will look at the idea of “if you suppress that wild, creative part of you — that Tyler part of you — do you lose the best part of you? Sure, your life is more stable and safe, but is it  a better life?”

The author added: “The sequel will be told from the… submerged perspective of Tyler Durden as he observes the day-to-day tedium of the narrator’s life. Tyler is
something that maybe has been around for centuries and is not just this aberration
that’s popped into his mind.” Put on some Pixies, lock the door — it’s good to have Durden back.

Fight Club 2 is out on May 27 from Dark Horse Comics

TWO OTHER NEW(ISH) COMICS WORTH READING — AND NOT A SUPERHERO IN SIGHT.

POSTAL
A self-policed small town that operates as a haven for fugitive criminals has its first official murder in 25 years. The mayor’s strange son runs the post office and starts to piece things together. A cross between The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and True Detective, this is a dark and interesting chunk of small-town Americana.

THE FADE OUT
Hollywood in the ’40s and a writer is suffering from post-war nightmares, a young starlet just met a suspicious death, and maniacal studio moguls, violent security chiefs and cover-ups abound. Fans of James Ellroy and the seedier side of the Golden Age of Hollywood will enjoy the stories, along with real-life articles at the end of each issue.

For Esquire Magazine – click here for original PDF – fight club 2