It is practically impossible to write a story set in the aftermath of the Iraq War without the realities of that war becoming present in one way or another.  As a horror story set in this bleak world, it had looked as though the setting might be more for ambiance than for plot, but this second issue proves that horror is not only for cheap scares or creepy tension.  In the proper mix horror can also be used to make some social commentary and that is what happens here.  Of course the realities of the Iraq War are horrors in themselves, and those realities become the substitute for the horror in this issue.  As Dana digs deeper into the gruesome murder which she witnessed at the end of the previous issue, she discovers that she is not the only person with a stake in the outcome of her investigation.  Fasad becomes her unlikely ally after their joint discovery of the body on the previous night.

While the first issue was a compelling introduction into this horrific world, the second issue stumbles a bit in its pacing and in its overall message.  There is one part that is critical of the work of the private contractors in the Iraq War, which verges on the unfortunate reality of the situation, but later in the issue the same reality is dispelled (at least for the time being) by a cult that seems to belong in another place than the reality of the war.  The story thus runs well at times and then changes gears to something completely different.  It is not that the separate parts are not engaging, but the approach ends up being less than the sum of its parts.

The end result is still a satisfying read, with a horror that is not as cliched as a killer after a group of teenagers or murderous supernatural entities.  The setting is a fresh and potentially fertile one for the genre, and in reality the only thing missing at this point is more clarity as to what exactly it is that they are up against.  This issue did falter a little bit in its ability to flow throughout, but the end result is still a solid story in a series which is pushing some boundaries.

Story: Michael Moreci & Tim Daniel Art: Colin Lorimer
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review.