The Strain #2 Review: Can We Get to the Coffin Already?

The plane is grounded, but the nightmare has only just begun. It’s the continuation of the comic book adaptation of Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s vampire trilogy “The Strain.”

Issue two picks up where part one ends: with the coffin and the survivors. The story in this volume is more build up than actual vampire action. In fact, we don’t even a vampire until the last page of the comic. It’s okay, even though not much happens and the survivors only have a maximum three panels each. Obviously, there’s not much room for development- meaning they will die or not be mentioned again. What happens to the coffin makes you wonder why there was very little security for something that’s evidence in a serious case. On top of that, the thugs who transport the coffin are so generic and uninteresting that they bring down this issue even further.

The artwork is same mixed bag as issue one. It switches from scary looking “Tales from the Crypt” style artwork to a more Saturday morning cartoon look. Whether this is intentional is unclear, but it is distracting. The Tales from the Crypt” style is more fitting for a story like this and Dark Horse should really make up their minds on how they want this comic to look.

The biggest complaint about this issue is unlike the great introduction that was issue one, this one reads more like filler than anything else. Besides one important plot point, nothing that important happens in this volume. It seems like this was the part in the book set aside for character development and exposition that can be pulled or nicely in novel form. It is lost in comic book form. You can safely skip this volume without fear of missing anything important because there isn’t much important story in this volume.

The second issue of “The Strain” is a disappointment after a great start in issue one. Thertwork that needs to stay consistent and a lack of action in this issue makes this one not worth reading. The ending looks like volume three may be the start of the real meat of the story though, so wait for the next issue and see if the vampires start killing some lowly humans. Maybe we’ll finally see what’s in that coffin. What’ll that thing look like? Will it be awesome?