A big part of enjoying comics is learning to accept a series for what it is rather than what you thought it was going to be or even wanted it to be. That fundamental truth was very much in my mind while going back over Burning Fields, the fairly enjoyable BOOM Studios mini-series that I initially completely misread. I reviewed the first issue when it came out, praising it as a new installment in my favorite genre of high polished sleaze. The basic set-up was essentially cut from the kind of garbage plot-boiler that first punctuated the airport book stores and video rental shops of the ‘90s before metastasizing into the mainstream with big name hits like Silence of the Lambs and Se7en.
The kind of story about hard nosed investigators and crazy killers who leave elaborate and symbolic clues based around complex allusions and actively taunt their pursuers. It’s a reliable genre that’s received a serious infusion of new blood and depth in recent years with hits like Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, True Detective, and Gone Girl. That was what seemed to be the central conceit of Burning Fields, taking that kind of complex trashy crime plot and transposing it to American occupied Iraq. However, it turns out that wasn’t at all what the comic was about, and that’s okay.
Turns out Burning Fields had less in common with Prisoners and infinitely more inspiration drawn from Call of Cthulu. That’s ultimate what Burning Fields turned out to be, a better than average reimagining of the kind of action/horror blend that tends to punctuate Lovecraftian RPGs. As I mentioned, the basic plot revolves around a murder mystery in Iraq, specifically it takes place around an American oilfield and pipeline guarded by a viscous PMC outfit. Our leads are Dana, an ex-soldier who was discharged after trying to bring charges against the PMC group, and Aban, an Iraq detective who knows more than he’s saying about the rituals used in the killings.
Even though Burning Fields is more of a horror/action comic it still borrows some heavy elements from classic crime thrillers. The setting is basically there as an excuse to having various warring factions and lend the proceedings an exotic feel but it’s also mired in the kind of conspiracy and mendacity that informs a lot of sleazy crime stories. Everyone in the story has a hidden agenda and there are a lot of competing factions and agencies so even though the story ends with some serious monster actions things get a little intricate and complex in the middle. Aside from that however Burning Fields is a very breezy read now that it’s finished and if you follow along through its denser 2nd act there’s a lot to enjoy here.
It’s interesting seeing the writers adapt classical tropes and elements from Lovecraftian horror/thriller/action mash-ups to a contemporary setting. Some of the swaps are simply cosmetic, trading hideous aquatic monsters for creepy flesh distortions that land half way between Silent Hill and The Crazies. Other elements are more subtle, like the lurking horror of that hides behind the city of Kirkuk. The conception of the central demon and its followers is thoroughly reminiscent of Cthulu with the central difference being its reliance upon man. It’s an interesting twist that reflects a more modern attitude towards man’s impact on the world. When Lovecraft was first writing his demons were always drawn from the archetypical other, something that corrupted humanity, whereas Burning Fields draws from the idea that humanity’s own innate cruelty and self obsession is what affords the demonic purchase in the first place.
Burning Fields won’t change your life and it won’t blow your mind but what it will do is thoroughly entertain and engage. There really aren’t a lot of stories to enjoy in the subgenre of horror action and even fewer in the realm of quasi-Lovecraftian contemporary horror so Burning Fields already has a very unique wrinkle to it. It’s still a little disappointing that it’s basically just a fun, pulpy horror story about investigators fighting extra-dimensional demons in Iraq but the comic we have is the comic we have and it’s a pretty fun comic, recommended.
