Thriller the way I likes ‘em
When I decided to give The Remnant #1 a once over for a possible review, I didn’t know I was getting myself into what could be the best thriller comic of the year.  One would think almost getting blown up would be the worst thing that could happen in your day. For former CIA Agent David Sacker, things do get worse as his wife is picked up as a possible suspect, and then a stranger you saw at the scene of the crime shows up, uninvited at your house.
Last issue, John Drouin slipped out of David’s grasp causing him to call in some favors to figure out exactly who this character might be. To make matters worse, David has also had to call in favors from high up places to get his wife out of lockup. It’s not spelled out exactly how his wife is involved in a federal building being blown up, but Sarah, David, and John are certainly the major players in the events that are unfolding in the pages of this series.
And talk about a thriller, as David’s colleges begin to use all the technology at their disposal to track down John, who seems to appear and disappear whenever he wants, a new figure emerges that is one spooky mo-fo. The only clue to who the mysterious Man with the White Hair might be comes in the closing pages, when an assassin talks with someone on the phone and praises chaos.
The Man with the White Hair certainly has an air of evil about him, and if he does turn out to be Satan, then I’m all for what Stephen Baldwin and Andrew Cosby are doing. I’m not big into religious themed stories, but a story that combines a spy thriller with a battle against evil is one that I can get behind – provided the story doesn’t turn into preachy sermon on why readers need to find god.
The first issue put the story into motion, introducing the characters and the supernatural elements. Issue #2 dives deeper into the story, making readers question what the heck is going on, and kicking the story into high gear, climaxing with a huge “Uh-Oh!†moment. Since this is an early review, I don’t want to spoil it all, but let’s just say one of the two heroes has been marked for death. I like how Caleb Monroe paced the story so scenes played out on double pages preventing the next reveal from being spoiled ahead of time.
The Remnant is only a four issue mini-series, which does raise some concerns. The pace of these first two issues is just fast enough to build the tension and cause the reader to become involved with the characters and situation, but the bigger picture seems so complex that I’m afraid the reveal and resolution will be wrapped up too quickly to get the maximum pleasure from the story.
Boom! Studios is 2 for 2 with this mini-series, and I’m giving The Remnant #2 4.5 out of 5 Stars. Highly recommended. If you haven’t picked up the first issue, go ahead and dive into the back issue bin this week and pick up both at the same time.
