COMICS IN THE CAMPER: TRANSFUSION 2

I reviewed IDW's Transfusion #1 two months ago and I had nothing but good things to say about it. Steve Niles and Menton 3 injected something unexpected and beautifully horrific into a genre that has whiskers on it. I am happy to report that Niles and Menton 3 make Transfusion #2 worth the wait.

Vampire William has lost a human family that was potentially going to feed his starving tribe of Vampires to several Robots who also need humans as both slaves and fuel. Painful sacrifices have to be made to keep his tribe alive, fed and able to compete with the seemingly unstoppable Robots for the earths last source of food--humans. In issue 2, William finds two unlikely allies who discover that the Robots are starting to cannibalize themselves for spare parts, something they have never had to do before. This revelation offers a glimmer of hope for William and the two human women who save his life.

two stunning pages from IDW's Transfusion #2 by Steve Niles and Menton 3

Once again I was completely transported into Niles and Menton3’s bleak, hopeless world. I enjoyed the scene where William mourns the loss of animal life which makes his world all the more lonely and sad. As in issue one, issue two has shocking, bloody moments of surprise that had me riveted to its stunning red gore which served to emphasize the bleak fog of sickly sepia and pale grays of this dead world that Menton 3 uses as the canvas that Niles story plays out on. Niles narrative minimalism belies an epic story and is extremely refreshing and palette cleansing after plowing through a pull list full of overly talky and visually busy comics and his style works so naturally and organically with Menton 3’s haunting and imposing and, at times, claustrophobic imagery. What I love about this comic is that, once you read it and take in its story, you want to keep looking at it. I spent more time on my second viewing just taking in the art. Transfusion just does not look or feel like anything else in comics right now and I cannot wait to see what issue 3 has in store.