As I noted before in my review of the first issue of The Scourge, a comic from Scott Lobdell, the series is for better or for worse, pure action fantasy. Devoid of any real characters, even hero John Griffin is little more than a gruff-speaking cardboard cutout, or any semblance of drama. The Scourge is guns, demons, and not much else. 

The issue opens exactly where the last left off, with Griffin face-to-face with his friend turned demonic monster. He runs, he jumps, he shoots a lot, and that's pretty much the entire issue. We don't really learn anything about the monsters other than what was already clear, if you get infected you become one of them, and that they're really tough to kill (although how tough seems a little to convenient moment by moment). That's not to say that the issue isn't entertaining; just don't expect it to be something it's not.  

The Scourge tries to add a layer of motivation to Griffin's actions, other than survival that is, with his son. Griffin must now not only survive the demonic attack, but also make it to his son in time to pick him up from a field trip and get him to safety, wherever that is. It's not an especially important addition to the story, nor does it add very much in terms of enjoyment or character development. Besides being incredibly cliché, the scenes with Griffin's son feel irrelevant and formulaic. In fact, Griffin's character as a whole still feels derivative of too much other material. As a result, being a protagonist centric narrative, The Scourge overall feels all too familiar, despite its unique trappings. 

Still, before I come off sounding like I despised the issue; there was plenty of fun to be had. The b-movie camp is still there in full force, but unlike the first issue, Griffin has plenty of time to shine. Dramatic gunplay, amusing one-liners, and some great sequences with a motorcycle: The Scourge shows its strength through its action.  

Unfortunately, it still feels like it wants to be a character-centric story; and there's not much too be found in that area. While I'm still interested in where it's going, I feel like I'm going to get very tired of all the shooting if the The Scourge doesn't bring something fresh to the table. Overall, it's an improvement on the debut issue, but it still hasn't come into its own. It's not a terrible buy, but I would still recommend holding off to see where the series is going.