Gasolina #3 Review

"Frickin-Scary-Monsters are a Gas-Gas-Gas"

Written by: Sean Mackiewicz
Art by: Niko Walter
Colors by: Matt Lopes
Publisher: Image
Release Date: 22 November 2017
Review by: Andrew McAvoy

The third issue in this sun-baked thriller starts to turn up the heat another notch. The sense of unease is growing and Los Queridos are getting more deadly by the issue. For Amalia and Randy who just wanted a quiet life away from it things are getting worse all the time, and they are getting drawn further and further into the violence that seems to be seeping through the land. Oh, and the monsters are becoming increasingly prominent in this book. Let's dive into the pool and see what the water's like this issue.



The issue opens with Randy and Amalia in a position to get the hell out of Dodge. Except Randy starts to feel a sense of belonging to the people being herded off their ranch and shepherded into the back of a convoy truck, sure to meet a grim fate. Amalia is bracing herself for the inevitable; they can't go back north, they can't go down south, and she doesn't want to become involved. She knows, however that she's about to become involved...

The violence kicks off with the death of an elderly man who doesn't make it onto the convoy in good time and gets a head full of lead. Then it turns into a blood bath. We see that the farmhouse is on fire, and that the workers are being rounded up for a cruel fate. When a young man with a crucifix is told that "Jesus did not die for our sins, our blood was given to us by the Gods, and to the Gods it shall return" you get a pretty good idea that what's coming around the corner at us ain't gonna be pretty.

Actually though the gruesome part of this issue takes place away from the scenes at the burning farmstead. Instead we switch scenes to a seemingly innocent little evening with a mustachioed middle aged El Dorado sniffing cocaine off an outdoor coffee table, beside the swimming pool. Two hookers accompany him, also sniffing up a storm. Just your typical night in...until a fourth (uninvited) reveler joins in their fun.

Bits and Pieces:

This series keeps turning up the heat slowly but surely. It keeps us on tenterhooks and the revelations are meted out carefully in the right proportion to ensure the tension is retained. We are gradually getting more and more of the monsters in this book, and their presence is always a timely reminder that this is a book about the Cartels, but not as we know them. Another top installment in this series which manages to deliver that tricky third issue in style.

8.1/10