Touched By A Demon #2: The Road To Hell is Paved by Life Coaching

With their first job a failure of deadly proportions, Bifrons and Pazuzu aim to move forward in their quest for retribution. Thanks to social media marketing the pair are able to find another client who is trying to reunite with his wife and son. Little do Frons and Zuzu know that this will end up another bloody lesson in life coaching. 

After a very fraught first outing for their burgeoning company, Frons and Zuzu are raring to give another try, this time with a new employee. Fresh off of killing her entire family, Wendy (the girl the pair “helped” in the first issue) joins the team as their newest secretary. The audience is also introduced to the company’s other secretary Elaine, who turns out to be a spirit bonded to an Amazon Alexa who helps Frons and Zuzu as penance for her crimes when she was alive instead of being tortured for all eternity. Her design and backstory seem to be a reference to Chef Pii, the woman who went viral a few years ago due to her controversial “Pink sauce”. So it was fun to get more context for her as well. Overall, this issue deals with the case of Sergio and his tragic reunion with his estranged wife and son and the fallout from it.

Kristen Gudnuck is proving to be a writer that strikes a delicate balance between dark humor, and genuinely uncomfortable story telling. The events that transpire after Frons and Zuzu take Sergio to the motel where his wife and son are staying are equal parts hilarious and alarming depending on your personal views. As I watched things unfold on the page, I could hear both a somber piano ballad playing in the background, as well as the theme to Curb Your Enthusiasm. The art remains consistent, though Sergio manages to leave an impression as he is drawn and inked much more prominently than other characters in the story. Almost as if Gudsnuck was attempting to make him appear more realistic.