The Pull List – Road of Bones #2
Fleeing from the hellish prison, Roman wanders the frozen tundra to distant himself from his former life. The escape from the gulag was possible by the help of Sergei and Grigori, two inmates that convinced Roman to join their escape plan. However, the icy plains of Siberia serve as another prison for Roman. The harsh weather and the diminishing food supplies torment the group. Tension rises between Roman and Grigori as they clash over the direction they are walking towards. Survival in the Siberian wilderness will test any man’s endurance, and the group will find their own limits.
The group has exchanged one hell for another as the snow and cold surround form walls around them. Roman, Sergei, and Grigori navigate the terrain for weeks, hoping to make it to a hunter’s lodge for supplies. Grigori promises there will be shelter and food for all of them if they can survive the rough travel. It has been weeks since they left the gulag and there is no turning back at this point. Roman and Sergei are forced to trust Grigori, even if he is acting strange.
Issue two brings introduces the terror that is the Siberia winter. The wildlife is desolate and death may come at any moment. Traveling higher into the mountains, the surrounding is even less forgiving. Rich Douek lets the environment being the dreadful adversary in this chapter. While the fantasy elements in the story remain, the human emotions that the spotlight. The freezing conditions being to fracture the group, causing the group to lash out at each other. Roman is left wondering about his fate and where his trust lies with the rest of the group.
Alex Cormack gives a chilling representation of the frozen tundra. Empty white snow covers the land and the group is completely isolated from the world. Cormack’s well emoted facial artwork is great, detailing the escalating tension between Roman and Grigori. There are lots of overshadowing and zoom-ins that give this story a serious tone, keeping the dramatic tension riding through the issue.
Road of bones continues to be a thrilling horror story that keeps the pace tight and explores the disturbing moments of mankind. This story has the charm of a fairy tale that warns about the darkness that lies within people and is slowly building to its grand reveal.