Reviewed By Taylor Hoffman.

In “Pisces” #2 Kurtis Wiebe and Johnny Christmas dig deeply into the mind of a haunted veteran whose ghosts of war follow him throughout the rest of his fractured life. After reading this issue, it seems clear that all the pain that Dillon Carpenter, our main character, harbors is as existential as directly related to his air-force experience. As we travel through his life in flashback and flash-forward, we’ve already seen how much he’s treated as a villain and a failure by his father, his country, and the mystery woman from the first issue. In this second issue, Wiebe and Christmas take the horrors inside of Dillon’s mind and spreads them onto the pages like the plague.

Story by: Kurtis Wiebe

Art by: Johnnie Christmas

Publisher: Image Comics

Release Date: 5/27/15

The majority of this issue focuses on trust issues: can others trust him, can he trust anyone else, and, most importantly, can he trust himself?

We are thrown into the darkest memories of Carpenter and our eyes can’t help but dwell on his misery in an attempt to understand it all. Christmas draws nightmare demons like thick, black tar with worlds inside each smooth bubble that pops into a puddle of ink. He isn’t alone in his plight and a fellow veteran reassures him that there’s some, albeit very little, help and hope left for them. Both confide their shame and nightmares at a late night diner stop which gives readers a new level of depth to our main character.

There’s a lot to unpack in this scene, but reading it might motivate readers to understand the harsh reality of those who can’t speak out in fear of being silenced completely. Dillon is a survivor of war with no idea how to cope with the guilt through life with more than the simple takes that keep him going day by day, which is a rough routine that sedates, but never satisfies him. In the most lucid moment of his panic attacks, he’s blinded by the sheer violence and extreme loss in his life. We’re seeing his stream of consciousness wildly malfunction and flood with fears.

Wiebe proves he did his research on PTSD and war veterans, which clearly shows in the dynamics of Dillon’s relationships in this issue. It’s a stunning piece to examine, and it’s an opportunity to delve into taboo topics in war without celebrating war itself. It’s hard to articulate the absolute beauty of this issue because reading it is an intensely emotional dive into a mind scared and interrupted by reality. Each reader will find something deeply personal while staring into the starry abyss of death’s secret devils screaming in unison to be freed. Will anyone listen to Dillon when he’s finally in space? Who or what will hear his screams?

Pisces is an unfolding masterpiece that’s pushing the boundaries of comics past a point of ignorance and into a mind of real horror. While it’s only on the second issue, there’s so much ground and space left to explore. Wiebe and Christmas are the perfect team to fill out this grotesque and truly upsetting horror story of silence and mental illness. Dillon’s nightmares are getting worse, but are they just in his head or is there something extraterrestrial in the same form lurking beneath?