I couldn’t resist jumping on Plunder #2 for the review. Not just because I’m a huge fan of Skud McKinley’s (I have a print and an original piece of his on my wall in front of me), but because I really enjoyed the first issue. It was different from basically every comic I’ve read recently and that was something to be celebrated in my opinion. Now that said I can understand why a lot of readers might have been put off by the series. Its narrative is a bit different from most comics and the horror is more in line with The Thing than it is “Boo scared you” while hiding in the dark type horror. Is it bright? Yes, but then some of the scariest thing in life happen in the day. It’s going to boil down to personal preference and horror has as many preferences as comedy so I’m not going to debate that in this review.
This issue picks up just after Bahdoon has been forced to kill Disco, though he’s having a hard time understanding why. But imagine for a moment that you’re the newest member of the crew, you’ve already shown that you’re afraid and then suddenly the man you were working side by side is dead at your hands. Not only does this shake Bahdoon to his core, but it also scares him. Scares him enough that when he hears the others talking nearby he hides. Wouldn’t you? You don’t know how they’re going to react or if they’re even themselves. The level of mistrust would be massive and here’s our main character thrust in the middle.
One of the other crewmates spots Bahdoon and he’s forced to tell his tale and the captain of course doesn’t believe him. His only worth now is finding the part they need and his friend ends up volunteering to go with him. You have to wonder, will Bahdoon continue to be a curse on others?
The story picks up in this issue. The overall mystery isn’t revealed yet, but who expects that two issues in on a mini-series? There’s an interesting sequence that I can’t describe due to spoilers, but the character involved has a delusion of sorts. What I enjoyed about it was the fact that it started as a fantasy, but then incorporated the real world into it. It worked because that’s clearly how the alien messes with people’s brains.
I like McKinely’s work colored, but I have to wonder if this story would have been even better left just black & white. Maybe Archaia will offer up a version like that because that could really effect how the story plays out visually. As it stand though I enjoy it. I still like the coloring and think that it adds to the atmosphere of the story. It’s trying to be creepy most of the time not scary. The scare is more psychological than anything else.
Again I can see how this story might be off putting for some people. The ending of this issue stumbles and overall its characters and setting are very different from all other comics that you’re looking for anything at all to latch on to. That’s why the familiar element of The Thing is partially there so you can attach to it. While this issue isn’t as strong as the last I enjoyed the psychology of it and the art. Give the series a try, it’s more than a Captain Phillips meets The Thing horror story that’s for sure.
Score: 3/5
Plunder #2 Writer: Swifty Lang Artist: Skuds McKinley Publisher: BOOM!/Archaia Entertainment Price: $3.99 Release Date: 3/18/15 Format: Mini-Series (2 of 4); Print/Digital