The Strain Vol. 2

This is issue #2 of Dark Horse Comics' comic adaptation of The Strain, the first book of the trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan (corresponding to collected volume 2), adapted for comics by David Lapham and illustrated by Mike Huddleston. In the previous issue, a Boeing 777 landed at New York's JFK Airport and went completely dark and still, with nearly all of its more than two hundred passengers dead; Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, head of the CDC's Canary Project, and his partner Nora Martinez rushed to the scene to investigate. In this issue, Goodweather and Nora bring the mysterious coffin-like container found aboard the plane back for examination; the box holds only soil, yet the soil gives off the stench of rotting flesh, and the mystery surrounding Flight 753 deepens: three survivors are taken to hospital but can neither explain the strange events aboard the plane nor provide any useful testimony; the mysterious billionaire Eldritch Palmer and the aged pawnbroker Abraham Setrakian each set out for New York City in turn; and New York is about to witness a rare celestial event, an occultation, as daylight is swallowed by darkness and something deadly begins to harvest its first prey. This issue is an important setup stage in the opening of the six-issue adaptation, quietly steering the three threads of the monster, the conspiracy, and fate toward their convergence. This is volume 2 of the series.