The Strain #4 Review: The Best is Yet to Come

The vampire apocalypse in New York escalates in this issue of ‘The Strain.” Here, we get even more vampires for our money.

Things are just getting worse for Eph and Nora as more and more vampires are coming along and they find out the survivors have been let go- although it seems like Eph and Nora have nothing better to do than “get to know each other better” the first few pages of the comic. It seems like these are the most useless agents in the history of literature. The story does manage to pick up with more vampire attacks and even a scene with a 911 call center flooded with hectic calls. Ironically, it becomes one of the better written issues in the series.

It’s telling that the supporting cast is more is interesting than the main cast. Gabe, the rock star and the other survivors are better-written than Eph and Nora, to the point where we don’t care what happens to them. They need to do something way out of left field in order to win the love of readers or else they will be a lost cause. There’s a hint of something going to happen to Eph’s son that should help out with her character development if done correctly.

The artwork still has some issues with consistency and quality. The cartoony elongated art style still clashes with the dark and gritty art style that better fits the story. However, artist Mike Huddleston has kept these clashes to a minimum in this issue and has opted to use the dark and gritty style more frequently than the cartoony style. This is a step in the right direction for this artist and the series.

The comic adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s “The Strain” is still going strong with issue four. With improved artwork by Huddleston, more vampires and a plot is thickening “The Strain 4” is worth reading.