The pandemic begins to spread even more, becoming a greater public issue.
Creative Staff:
Writer: David Lapham
Artist: Mike Huddleston
What They Say:
The first night has fallen, and pale creatures roam the streets as a dark shadow creeps over New York City. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather is no closer to solving the mystery behind these strange incidents, and-though he doesn’t know it-a new visitor to the city has arrived with plans to thwart his efforts even further!
The Review:
As the series progresses, it’s felt a bit more unfocused as it’s gone on since it’s dealing with several characters and their own problems. Well, not problems specifically as you basically have the infected that have attempted to return to their lives only to end up turning even more into what they’re becoming. And feeding. While one or two of them like Gabe have gotten a bit more personality simply because of the forcefulness of it all, a lot of what we’ve gotten is essentially the overweight pasty white guy that’s just roaming down the streets looking to eat something. When you have Gave, you get someone who knows how to draw people in so he can kill and feed on them. It’s pretty brutal what he does and how he accomplishes it, but Gabe certainly comes across as the more competent killer here compared to some of the others.
In the midst of all the bloodshed and disembodiment, we get a bit more of the personal side as well as we see how Eph is getting closer to not being able to cope with the situation. It’s not that the situation is getting to be too much for him, it’s just the lack of sleep and the belief that stopping will just make things worse. There’s some good interpersonal stuff that crops up here that helps to soothe him a little – sex always helps! – but there’s also a look at another part of his life that’s going to factor in. While we see the things his ex is going through over dealing with their son, Eph is starting to have dreams about Zack and his involvement in the case. It’s not an unnatural reaction considering what’s starting to unfold and his understanding of it, but it also gives everything a much more personal intensity to it.
Also not surprising is the bureaucratic side of the series as the way that none of the survivors were kept for extended surveillance, something you’d think would happen when you understand just how much uncertainty there was with the flight. That all starts to have its consequences here, which we’ve seen smatterings of so far, but it’s causing the feeling of a mass hallucination or “eclipse fever” as one dispatcher puts it. It’s definitely interesting watching how events are starting to spread more and the display of it is certainly building up the atmosphere a bit, especially as it intermingles with other parts of the book and characters.
In Summary:
While I felt the series started out strong, it’s come across a bit more unfocused in the last couple and this just continues it. While Eph is pretty much the lead, he’s getting little time and what we’re spending with others is a bit more chaotic. It has its point and it’s helping to build the larger narrative, but there still feels like there isn’t a driving force that’s really moving the story forward. A lot of things are unfolding, and they’re interesting and very bloody and violent, but it hasn’t come together as a whole yet. I’m enjoying the book for what it’s trying to do and the visual style of it all, but it’s still lacking something to really move it tot he next level and get it moving in a bigger way.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
