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The Strain #8 comics review

By Leroy Douresseaux
May 25, 2013 - 12:34

The Strain #8 cover image

Part 8: “Goodbyes”

Dark Horse Comics’ The Strain is an 11-issue comic book adaptation of The Strain, the 2009 vampire novel from Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro and novelist Chuck Hogan.  The comic book is scripted by David Lapham, drawn by Mike Huddleston, colored by Dan Jackson, and lettered by Clem Robins.

Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather heads the Centers for Disease Control’s Canary Project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats.   Eph and his second-in-command, Nora Martinez, discover a mysterious illness at J.F.K. International Airport in New York City, after a Boeing 777 goes dead silent after landing.  Almost all the passengers and crew are dead; now those bodies are disappearing, and a strange virus is leaving people dead and bringing back people who should be dead.

As The Strain #8 begins, Eph, Martinez, and Professor Abraham Setrakian visit the Stoneheart Group’s headquarters in Manhattan, but everyone, including CEO Eldritch Palmer is gone.  Next, the trio pays a visit to Eph and Martinez’s supervisor, Jim Kent, where Eph hears some shocking news from Jim’s wife.

Meanwhile, Gus, the Latino male who was wrongly jailed by New York’s finest, is being transferred to another jail, along with his homeboy, Felix.  But Felix is sick and about to undergo a monstrous transformation.  And Eph says his goodbyes, while Eldritch Palmer makes an unpleasant hello.

THE LOWDOWN:  The violence, blood, and gore in this eighth issue of The Strain don’t make it any less smart and engaging than the issues that focus on back story, mythology, or investigation.  I’m on a roll with this series simply because it is hard to stop reading it.

It is said that a virus can spread like a wildfire.  Well, The Strain can spread across your imagination with the speed of a wildfire.  The scenes with Gus in the police van are harrowing and mesmerizing.  Even if you know that Gus should survive, it really does not seem like he really will.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of horror comic books looking for quality will want to catch The Strain.

 

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12