The Strain: Book One review.

"Bloody, disgusting, sickening fun..."

Dark Horse's comic adaption of Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's trilogy, The Strain, is a dark thing of beauty. It takes the best viral outbreak stories and blends it with a dash of vampires and a hint of zombies. While any one of those options alone would be an over played and worn to death story, The Strain marries the three perfectly. Recently, the novel series was picked up by FX and was just renewed for a second season. In light of all of the positive press, I decided to give the graphic novel version a go.

The Strain follows Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team after the Center for Disease Control (CDC) brings them in to investigate a potential terrorist attack at JFK International Airport. What the team finds inside the grounded and seemingly lifeless Boeing 777 threatens to destroy not just New York City, but the World.  With the help of an elderly, and seemingly crazy, gentleman, Goodweather sets out to stop the spread of whatever was contained inside the airplane; something that is spreading faster than anyone can imagine.

The first thing you will notice upon diving into this book is the breathtaking and brutal artwork by Mike Huddleston. Each page, let alone each panel, is heavy with atmosphere and emotion. Even without speech bubbles or though boxes, the reader is lead throught this dark story. Complimenting Huddleston's pencils are colors by Dan Jackson. Jackson's use of dull and/or muted tones add a touch of realism that is to often lost in a lot of modern comics. Even DC's New 52 Batman, while dark and brooding, uses a brighter color pallet to emphasize the shadows and darkness. 

As I have not seen the television show, nor read the novels, I came into this graphic novel with an open mind.  I found the script, which was written by David Lapham, moved the story along at a brisk, yet sometimes confusing, pace. Only in a few spots throughout the graphic novel's 250 pages did I feel the book stumbled a little in its execution. There is one scene in particular where a single use, UV light "grenade", is used that felt a tad forced. While not a major issue, I did feel as though it tripped up the flow, if only for a few pages.

As believable as Goodweather's character is (this was really shown in some of the opening pages prior to all hell breaking loose), some of the supporting characters don't stand up as well. Abraham Setrakian, in particular, felt very forced. Early on, it felt as though Del Toro, Hogan and subsequently Lapham were really pushing for the "crazy old man" vibe. That quickly fell away when everyone began to believe him. Next thing I knew he was being presented as the old and wise mentor to Goodweather, his team and some survivors. The stark difference in the presentation was something that stuck out to me during the last quarter of the graphic novel.

By the end, I found that the story devolved into less about the horror and focused more on action. This might be slightly jarring to some as the story grabs you, starts running and doesn't let go. As with my previous complaints, it isn't major, just a small bump. It isn't often that you find a book, much less a graphic novel, that can really instill fear like the opening chapters of The Strain. I just wish that the sense of fear created in the opening pages held through until the end. 

I read The Strain cover to cover in one sitting. While I have minor qualms with the pacing and ending, I found the story to be a gripping, bloody and fun adventure. I look forward to reading not just the next book, but also the novels as well as checking out the series on FX. If you are a fan of zombies, vampires and/or outbreak stories then I would recommend picking up this trade from Dark Horse. 

Rating: 7.5 / 10

Originally written for Comic Book Therapy. Posted here with their permission