When everyone is a suspect, how do you solve a seemingly perfect murder within a prison? “Dead Inside” #2 continues to peel away at that mystery. Read on for our review but be warned, there are some spoilers.
Written by John Arcudi
Illustrated by Toni Fejzula and Andre May
Linda Caruso is investigating the murder of an inmate in the Mariposa County Jail. With a short list of suspects who can’t escape, she thought it would be an easy case to solve. However, as new evidence comes to light, she only gets further from finding an answer.
* Perfect for fans of crime and prison television, such as Law & Order, NCIS, Orange Is the New Black, American Crime Story, or Making a Murderer.
* A new series from superstar writer John Arcudi and artist Toni Fejzula.
We here at Multiversity are huge fans of the Mignolaverse which means we have a great deal of love for John Arcudi’s work. When “Dead Inside” was announced at San Diego Comic Con, it became something we were all very excited for. Two issues in and “Dead Inside” is proving itself to be the dark, slow burn crime drama that we all hoped it would be. “Dead Inside” #2 is not the most thrilling read but it is full of tension and excellent layered storytelling that we don’t see as often in this comic book genre.
“Dead Inside” #2 picks up right after Caruso goes through with the autopsy. She brings her findings to the warden and it opens up a ton of doors for her as she’s able to finally start investigating this murder. Caruso gets more acquainted with the prison and especially Warren, who is there to help her in whatever she may need. We learn that the prison has secrets and while Caruso is no closer to learning who the killer is, she does gain insight she didn’t have before.
What I particularly enjoyed about “Dead Inside” #2 is the layering of the story. The first issue, albeit a strong one, spent more time getting everything set up. Now we’re beginning to get into the nitty gritty of this plot and specifically the setting and characters. Linda Caruso is not your typical detective as she shouldn’t even be there. Caruso had no desire to ever really be a detective and now that’s she’s failed at that, she’s working in this prison and giving upper management a headache because she’s doing her job too well now. This twist already helps “Dead Inside” stand above other series in the genre because we aren’t getting any stereotype. We aren’t getting the loose cannon or the hyper intelligent guy who probably should be doing something bigger than this. Caruso feels more like a real person with flaws but with a desire to do the right thing.
“Dead Inside” #2 also lets us see more of the prison itself. We’re getting more acquainted with what the prisoners are like and what they go through on a regular basis. Arcudi doesn’t write a sensationalized version of prison. This is a dark place with people who have done and been through real dark stuff. Arcudi also brings in a lot of tension in each and every relationship here. Nothing feels right and it helps turn everyone into a possible suspect and that’s where this second issue excels. The mystery is being peeled away now and it sort of feels like things are closing in on Caruso, especially with that cliffhanger. She’s clearly stumbled onto something much bigger and I like how Arcudi doesn’t hit us over the head with that. This is a standard size comic book issue but it feels much longer thanks to the pacing. It doesn’t read as slow in a negative sense but as something meticulously crafted.
Toni Fejzula is an artist with a very distinct style and it helps elevate “Dead Inside” #2 into something much bolder than your standard crime drama. Fejzula does great horror and while this isn’t a horror book, he brings in some of that to this story. There are flashbacks to the crime that feature extra gore and interesting, horrific perspective shots. Violence is scary and Fejzula provides an exaggerated but necessary depiction. Throughout the issue he also uses some interesting angles that kind of add this extra anxiety to the tone of the story. When Caruso is in the prison, almost nothing is ever straight on. It is a nice added touch that plays with mood in a really cool way that the writing cannot.
Fejzula’s expressions and use of close ups also help make “Dead Inside” #2 feel a little more horrific. We only really get narration from Caruso and it is never an on the nose explanation of her feelings. Instead, this is done by Fejzula in how he has his characters react to things. We get dramatic closeups and truly emotive characters reacting to what they are going through. These don’t act as static images but more like a peek into a world we’d never want a part of. May’s colors are on the darker side of things but this calls for that. May does a lot with the heavy inks Fejzula leaves for him and makes the backgrounds pop. A pet peeve of many readers are less than detailed backgrounds but what May does on colors makes up for the lack of detail behind the characters. May adds an energy in his color work that brings the eyes directly to the characters and the action all while setting the right mood.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A strong follow up to a very good first issue. This is what crime comics should strive towards.
