Next month AfterShock Comics will release Cross to Bear #2, the historical crime thriller from writer Marko Stojanović, artist Siniša Banović, colorist Aljoša Tomić, and letterer Taylor Esposito. Today The Beat has an exclusive preview of the forthcoming issue of the series, which follows a secret order tasked with hunting Jack the Ripper in the American West.

Here's how AfterShock describes Cross to Bear #2:

Edgar swore he was done with The Order. He was done with the secrecy, the monsters and, most importantly, the killing. But now the murderer known as Jack the Ripper has hit close to home, and Edgar has no choice but to do what he promised he never would…return to The Order, and his brother along with it, to enact his plan of terrible revenge.

In a statement back when Cross to Bear was first announced, writer Marko Stojanović described some of his influences in working on the series:

"There are far too many to number here - but what`s more important, I think, is that they are all here, in this book. I approach writing every one of my scripts, be they for European, Asian or US audiences the same - I give it all I have. While I have an utmost respect for certain well know prose writers, I catch them saving ideas, plots and twists for the next contracted piece while writing the current one. It is easily discernible if you compare their late work with their early one, when they were trying to establish themselves and did not hold back. I treat every book like it`s my first, and all the inspiration, all the ideas come into the pot. Also, I wanted to avoid predictability - which is one of the hardest things nowadays, since we`ve all seen it all, read it all and therefore know where things are going all the time. Hopefully, I managed to do just that with Cross to Bear, at least to a certain extent... Readers can judge for themselves - and I hope they do, since that would mean they picked up the book to do so."

Check out the exclusive four-page preview of Cross to Bear #2 below. The latest issue of the series arrives in stores and digitally on Wednesday, December 1st.