“Plague” is a term that refers to something disgusting and dangerous. It breeds the idea of death and destruction. The Plague is all of those things and more. The truth is, The Plague is pretty f*cking awesome.
The Plague opens in the farmlands of Iowa where we meet a hardworking family. A loving mother is tasked with saving her daughter from a particularly aggressive and disgusting rat. When chasing the rat out with the broom fails, she has to resort to using her husband’s shovel to finish the job.
One of my favorite things of The Plague is how the art helps tell the story. From the moment you see the first rat you know its no ordinary creature. The detail in its blood stained fur, the expression of its wild eyes, they tell you before the chase even begins that something is different about this rat. When the commotion dies down and her husband, Robert, disposes of the still twitching body you get the feeling they haven’t seen the last of these creatures.
At the same time, in a New Jersey lab, doctors Jeremy and Carol are experimenting on an unusual rat of their own. As they try to document the phenomenon they are seeing in the rat, namely an increase in aggressive behavior and blood around the eyes, Jeremy remarks that he has been seeing this more and more. He also reveals that his studies so far have revealed a foreign body in the rats that resembles parvoviridae family of viruses.
As the story continues, it jumps back and forth between Iowa and New Jersey. For every question that the characters manage to answer, two more new questions arise. The characters are great and the dialogue is on the mark. As the mystery developed I found myself growing more interested with every turn of the page, hungry for answers.
The tone, characters, and storytelling help craft a creepy tone that is present in every aspect of the book. There is something special about the art as well. I’m no artist, so I don’t know if it’s the drawings themselves, the way the colors blend on the page, or the coloring method but the art jumps out in every frame. The colors and shadows heighten the suspense that is built with the story. This brings the book to life in a way the personifies the dialogue, the fear in the characters, the truly disgusting rats, and the nature of the plague itself.
This book caught me by surprise and continued to hold my interest. If you are a fan of comics, stories, or art this is definitely a book for you. While I’m only two issues into the series I cant wait to see what comes next. The Plague is a refreshing combination of suspense and horror and shouldn’t be missed by anyone.
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