The team ventures further into the cave, only to discover unimaginable and horrific things, both around them and within. Your Major Spoilers review of Into The Unbeing #2, awaits!

INTO THE UNBEING #2

Writer: Zac Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Konner Knudsen
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 17th, 2024

Previously in Into The Unbeing: With their leader missing and a sandstorm at their backs, the expedition has no choice but to take shelter within their newly discovered alien environment.

GOING DEEPER

Into The Unbeing #2 starts with the team still in the opening of the cave they have discovered. After examining the area for a while, they experience a cave-in and are forced to go deeper inside. As they go further, the team begins to theorize about what they have found, and tensions begin to rise. Things then shift to a flashback of Zara’s past, revealing that she once worked as a mercenary for a powerful oil company sent to crack down on protesters who were protesting a massive oil spill. They press on and enter an area that Zara believes is the inside of a skull. There they discover the remains of an explorer that one of the team believes to be someone lost in Nepal decades prior. They set up camp and while everyone is sleeping Zara reads a journal found on the body and discovers the horrors that the man had uncovered.

A FRUSTRATINGLY SLOW BUILD

Into The Unbeing #2 sticks to a slow, deliberate, and subdued pace to a fault. Much of this issue is concerned with the team examining their surroundings, then moving on, and then examining their new surroundings. This gives a majority of this issue a feeling that’s akin to listening in on a group of scientists mumbling out jargon and passive-aggressive zingers. Even as the things they discover become increasingly unnatural and unsettling, their reactions barely rise above a “hmm”, which doesn’t do much to create any sense of tension or terror. That is, until the last third of the issue. The part where Zara reads the journal and the final pages after that is truly unnerving and scary, not because of anything seen on the page, but what is created in the imagination. The added suspense of Zara’s revealed motivations mixes with this newfound sense of dread in a brilliant way that makes up for the slow build-up.

UNSURE IF THE ART IS UP TO THE TASK

There are some things that the art in Into The Unbeing #2 does well. The characters are expressive and full of little nuances that give them a sense of complexity even though the art style isn’t hyper-realistic. Also, the way that they depict wide open spaces and claustrophobic tunnels captures anxiety in two different and opposing ways. Where things get less effective is in the moments when the team comes across things that are supposed to be grotesque and unnatural. Early on Zara discovers a birdlike creature. But rather than tapping into any sort of body horror elements, it just comes off as a goofy-looking chicken with some vague blobs and bits glued to it. Considering the vivid description of a monster found in the journal that Zara reads, I’m not very confident that the art will be able to capture the horror that is described.

BOTTOM LINE: NEEDS TO GET OUT OF FIRST GEAR

I’m not opposed to slow burns. Most of the time they’re more enjoyable and intriguing than the opposite. But, when a slow burn is mixed with a monotonous plot, things shift from being a slow burn to an outright fizzle and that’s what most of Into The Unbeing #2 is. A strong ending does save this issue though and hints at an increase in pace that is desperately needed, so while the issue is not the strongest, it ends on a good note that makes me optimistic for what comes next. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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