Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: John Arcudi
Artist: Toni Fejzula
Colourist: Andre May
Cover Artist: Dave Johnson
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $3.99

In Dead Inside #2, Detective Linda Caruso is the token female in the Sheriff’s Department and the subject of her male boss’s Neanderthal misogynistic remarks and opinions, with a slam-dunk case to solve. The murder of inmate Donny Gordo in the Mariposa County Jail is so simple it almost solves itself when Gaffney, the likely suspect, commits suicide, albeit in a rather unusual way!

But all is not as it seems in Dead Inside #2 and Detective Caruso is a lot sharper than her boss wants to admit. Admittedly the suspects aren’t going anywhere – this is a prison after all, but with the possible suspect list rising by the second to include both inmates and prison officers, Caruso has her hands full. With her former partner Warren, now a prison officer, the only one she can trust; Caruso ruffles feathers and breaks bones as she locks onto the trail of the killer.

Tough, gutsy and taking no bull from anyone, Linda Caruso dominates Dead Inside #2 and re-defines the term “girl power” to the nth degree. You really wouldn’t like her when she’s angry! Dead Inside #2 is a barnstorming tour de force from John Arcudi, appealing to fans of TV shows like Banshee and Sons of Anarchy as well as comic book readers who like their heroes hardboiled and spirited.

Dead Inside is a series to read and wallow in for many issues to come. Crime comic books really don’t get better than this.

Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker