In “Burning Fields” #1 former Marine, Dana Atkinson is tasked with returning to Kirkuk, Iraq to investigate a string of seemingly unrelated yet equally brutal murders. At the proposition she accurately jabs that it sounds like “Se7en” in the desert. If that premise alone doesn’t hook you, the jaw-droppingly gruesome final page certainly will.
WRITTEN BY: Michael Moreci & Tim Daniel
ART BY: Colin Lorimer
PUBLISHER: BOOM!
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: January 21, 2015
Reviewed By Eric Switzer
Admittedly, this first issue isn’t exactly a breeze to get through. There are a significant number of unknowns in the setup of this series, question marks that are crucial to our understanding of the characters and their motivations, and while leaving things about the characters to be discovered is a perfectly valid narrative choice, the number of conversations that hinted at backstory and relationships was almost enough to warrant a flow chart.
It certainly lent itself to more natural dialogue that didn’t come across as stilted exposition, but the trade off of that is making the reader feel like they are walking into the middle of a story and causes confusion. What has Dana gotten into that has her pitted against the Chicago P.D. and the Russian Mob? What is Verge and what is there intentions? How was Decker ruining Dana’s life? What happened during Dana’s time of service that almost led to “them” almost killing her? How did Dana “cross the line” and who are the men in her house? I can only assume these question will be answered throughout the course of the book, but the sheer number of holes in my understanding caused some pretty serious bumps during my first pass on this issue.
I’m really interested in seeing the extent to which Middle Eastern cultures and American cultures will blend as U.S. involvement continues. Setting a thriller/murder mystery in Iraq is suggestion of that, and I think this kind of media helps to humanize Middle Eastern people to us (while blockbuster films like American Sniper continue to undue that progress, but that is separate issue). Rarely is any kind of narrative other than War Dramas taking place in Iraq, and I really like to see other genres utilizing the conflict as a basis and setting for good storytelling.
“Burning Fields” strikes me as an intriguing thriller, with strong elements of body horror, that will not be playing into the myth of the “American Hero in a Savage Land”. I wish that there weren’t as many loose ends throughout the first issue, the number of missing pieces makes me feel somewhat overwhelmed up until that reveal on the last page. I’m not putting a ton of social responsibility on “Burning Fields”, I’ve gotten burned* with those expectations in the past, but I am very much looking forward to the mystery, drama, and horror that will ensue.
*I’m so sorry for that.
Editors Note: Burning Fields was a comic we got to announce right here at Bloody-Disgusting. To learn more about the series and where it’s headed make sure to read that interview. Because, this is going to be one hell of a ride.
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Eric Switzer is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles. His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality. He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.