Review: House of Penance #2

By Reboot

After enjoying Dark Horse’s House of Penance #1 by Peter Tomasi (w) and Ian Bertram (a) as much as I did, I figured I should give issue #2 a go. So, did issue #2 keep the momentum going after House of Penance came charging strongly out the gate last month?

One of the first things I noticed as I read this issue is the pacing. As the first issue is a slow, methodical build-up to the unknown, the second issue wastes no time jumping in head first. References the characters bring up hints at the time period, such as how the construction workers mention the Spanish-American War and Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, but as the first issue takes the time to slowly drag you down into this world via the time period, issue #2 focuses nearly exclusively on the psychological horror of it all.