Review: The Wilds #2

When some unknown bacterium begins to take over humanity, and those who are infected are under control of the mysterious microscopic adversary, things in the world can get pretty interesting, pretty darn fast. It“s as if nature is fighting back, to take what is rightfully its own while destroying anything which stands in the way. Those who remain unaffected by the bacterium find themselves living in colonies together under strict control, in an attempt to stop the spread of this”¦..thing, while searching for a way to save themselves.

The Wild, (Black Mask Comics) has a feel, to me, of The Walking Dead, but it takes the whole zombie thing a different direction. Instead of the dead coming to life, we see the living get infected, and turn into a fertile breeding ground for any random spores floating through the air. One of the most interesting things for me in this comic is the art, depicting those who have been infected. Each of them has random fungi or fauna growing from their skin in different and unique ways. It“s beautiful, and yet hauntingly grotesque at the same time. Artist Emily Pearson, and colorist Marissa Louise provide an outstanding canvas for the story to unfold upon. Until reading this comic, I never knew how creepy it would be to have plants growing out of people, now it will haunt me forever. Thanks y“all.

The story focuses on a small group of survivors who are called runners. They are tasked with leaving the compound to scavenge for supplies. As they have the most contact with the outside world, they see things changing. Tensions begin to come up within the group near the end of this issue and this will no doubt be addressed down the road.

While this was an entertaining comic book, I hope writer Vita Ayala dives deeper into what the cause of this outbreak is and the struggle to find a cure. This, to me, seems like a real opportunity to make the story unique instead of focusing on frivolous friction between factions of survivors. The potential for development into an interesting, smart, mind-blowing story is here. We“re just at the beginning of this journey, let“s see where it takes us.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Vita Ayala (A) Emily Pearson (CA) Phillip Sevy

Author Profile

Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.