The oil field horror comic by Michael Moreci, Tim Daniel and Colin Lorimer comes to a close after eight issues. Some will live, some will die, and nothing will ever be the same as the tension between American occupiers and Iraqi natives boils over, sparked by a series of ritually inspired killings.
Check out our spoiler free review of “Burning Fields” #8 to see why you should not have missed this series.
Written by Michael Moreci & Tim Daniel
Art by Colin Lorimer
Final issue! Dana, Aban, Decker, and Asag battle as the oilfields of Kirkuk burn.
One of the most surprising things about “Burning Fields” is how naturally it evolved over the course of its eight issue run. What started as a hard boiled murder mystery set against the conflict between occupying American security forces and the citizens of Kirkuk has slowly turned into a full blown horror comic with influences from H.P. Lovecraft and The Descent. It’s a real testament to Moreci, Daniel and Lorimer in how they have developed this story and how its evolution from Se7en-esque murder mystery into full blown horror has felt so natural. The swerve into horror came about so gradually that, looking back, it’s amazing to see how the writing about the geo-political status of Kirkuk and the conflict there actually fed into what “Burning Fields” became.
And what “Burning Fields” became is a book that uses horror and conflict as a way of delving deep into the complicated hearts of its characters. Back in my review of “Burning Fields” #1 I talked about how Dana, one of the central characters to the story, was engaging because she entered the story with a lot of personal and emotional baggage that isn’t just immediately explained away in the first issue. Moreci and Daniel smartly allowed her past to unravel over the course of the series and in this issue we see how all those events shaped her into the woman she is. Moreci and Daniel used this slow unraveling of her character, revealing her past piece by piece, to put her in a position in this issue where she must face the darkness within herself and push forward.
The way Moreci and Daniel use the horror elements of this issue (which I don’t want to spoil because if you don’t know about them already, then you’re in for a treat) as a literal representation for Dana’s darkness, forcing her to face it and attempt to overcome it. Trying to talk about this without spoiling it is going to be tricky, but the way Moreci and Daniel have written the conclusion to Dana’s journey is appropriately emotional and builds on many of the thematic elements that has been seeded throughout the series. While Aban does get the short end of the stick in terms of emotional payout this issue simply because Dana’s story is so emotionally complex and the conclusion to her story is one of the driving forces of the issue, the role he plays in the story is still just as interesting as it was in the first issue. One of the major sources of tension created in this issue is the fact that Aban has a family waiting for him and he is forced to, more or less, enter hell in order to stop the killings.
One of the real reasons this issue is a satisfying conclusion to the series is not just that the stories of Dana and Aban are concluded in such a satisfying way, it’s also because Moreci and Daniel don’t feel the need to wrap everything up neatly in a happy ending. The ending to “Burning Fields” is actually a little bittersweet, but in a way that feels appropriate to the story that has built up over the previous seven issues. Again, this is something that’s difficult to talk about in detail without spoiling the ending, but suffice it to say that Moreci and Daniel really stuck the landing with this series writing-wise.
The grounded, realistic artwork from Colin Lorimer and colourist Joana Lafuente was something that really grabbed me in the first issue of “Burning Fields”. The heavy inks threw the world into dark, oppressive shadows and fed into the atmosphere of dread in the comic. In this issue, Lormier and Lafuente continue to impress as they showcase their ability to create genuine horror in the artwork as well as intense action. There’s an excellent sense of Eldritch horror in this comic that really draws on the art team’s ability to use shadows and lighting to create a sense of dread and oncoming threat which blends well with the visceral, violent horror that sees limbs cut off and people gutted. This isn’t a comic for the faint of heart and Colin Lorimer still won’t shy away from a level of violence that would make Eli Roth blush.
Continued belowYet Lorimer and Lafuente never forget the fundamentals of slowing down a scene in order to let the emotion come through. There’s no real horror without a connection to the character going through that horror and so Colin Lorimer always ensures that we keep our connection to Dana and Aban throughout the conclusion to this issue, even as the world is falling down around them, that feeds into the emotional writing of Moreci and Daniel. This issue shows a creative team entirely in sync as they all build to the best ending they can deliver and, boy, did they deliver.
All in all, “Burning Fields” #8 is an immensely satisfying conclusion. For a series that married serious political writing with intense character study as well as a blend of hard military action and Eldritch horror, one would imagine that it would be a series full of tonal dissonances. Instead, the creative team of Moreci, Daniel, Lorimer and Lafuente blended all of these elements together for a series that, while it still wore its inspirations on its sleeves, felt wholly unique in its own right. “Burning Fields” was intense, violent, emotionally complex and often brilliant thanks to writers who really delved deep into the world they created and artists who infused that world with an amazing sense of atmosphere in character. This was a miniseries that, honestly, everyone should have read.
Final Verdict: 9.3 – A brilliant ending to an equally brilliant series.
