Real Ones: Holding Vigil On The Latest
The Vigil #1
Ram V
Lalit Kumar Sharma
Rain Beredo
DC
The Vigil is the latest series from Ram V, which tells the story of a group of Southeast Asian metahumans who are tasked with finding “dangerous things” in the world and destroying them. Dr. Sankaran runs this secret organization, which he built while working under the guise of a government program, creating powers for special humans, in order to fulfill his own goal of ridding the world of harmful things (dangerous “technology, ideas, stories”).
The group is based out of Mumbai, where certain members run point on operations, while the metahumans, Saya and Dodge, carry out the necessary hero’s work. Saya has a scanner mask that allows him to take the form of any person he scans, while Dodge can move extraordinarily fast while carrying out attacks on opponents. There are hints towards the end of the story that there may be at least one more metahuman working on the team. The cover also shows three members of The Vigil, as well as a young boy.
In the first issue, The Vigil carry out an operation that looks like a rescue mission of a cargo ship whose crew has been taken hostage by pirates, off the coast of Thailand. They do carry out that task, but the true purpose of the mission is to locate a device containing dangerous technology and porting it back to their headquarters to be destroyed.
The metahumans of The Vigil are not necessarily heroes in the sense that they will kill in order to fulfill their mission. In that sense, they are more like a black ops team than the Justice League. They also have super cool, black costumes and masks and look a lot like villains. I really dig the darker vibes here. Also, a villain is introduced at the end that looks like someone straight out of the Sandman universe.
The cover art by Sumit Kumar is fantastic and iconic in its design. The writing by Ram V is predictably strong and the story is different enough from generic superhero tropes to be interesting. The art by Lalit Kumar Sharma didn’t strike me as especially unique, but the action scenes aboard the ship were executed very well. I see a lot of potential in this series and look forward to reading the next issue.
3 out of 5 daggers
Black Cloak #1
Kelly Thompson
Meredith McClare
Image
Black Cloak is a fantasy noir, a detective murder mystery. Phaedra Essex and Pax are the two detectives on the case of the murder of Freyal, the elf prince and heir to the throne. The story takes place in the city of Kiros, a peaceful kingdom, where 100 years earlier there was a “world-ending war.” Phaedra grew up with Freyal and they were to be married, until she was exiled from the kingdom, for as of yet, unknown reasons. So, Phaedra has a personal stake in wanting to solve the case and this investigation takes her through a painful past.
Things get more complicated when they discover the naked, lifeless body of the woman who owned the apartment that Freyal was murdered in, washed up on the shore of the lagoon. Beside her, a dead mermaid who, most likely, was poisoned when she took a bite of the body. Later, Phaedra visits Castle Kiros to relay the news of Freyal’s death to his mother, the queen. There she encounters her brother and mother, in passing, before she is removed from the grounds. The investigation has opened up some old wounds for Phaedra. She and Pax end the story at the Kiros police department, where there is an unruly crowd of people who claim to be involved with Freyal’s case, when the issue ends with a bloody cliffhanger.
What a cool world Kelly Thompson and Meredith McClaren have created here, full of unique creatures (like Mister Starlight!) and characters, not unlike Saga. The artwork and colors are absolutely beautiful and very unique, while the writing is fantastic and often hilarious. I would have picked up the first issue on the cover art alone, which is expertly designed and haunting. Although Black Cloak is an entirely new world, it’s easy to jump right into the story before totally understanding what’s happening. I enjoyed the issue so much that I immediately read it again and I’m excited to dig into the rest of the series.
4 out of 5 daggers
All Against All #1
Alex Paknadel
Caspar Wijngaard
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Image
All Against All takes place in “the distant future” where an alien group known as the Operators, parasitic lifeforms, are seeking out host bodies to fight a war. Earth has been picked through to salvage the beasts that they are attempting to harvest in a series of failed experiments. They keep the creatures in siloed off habitats in order to study them. The main architect of this experiment is Director B’tay, who gets a bit too close to the action, in the opening scene, where, after a battle between a polar bear and a gorilla, he encounters a wild human boy named Helpless. He leaves the boy to fend for his life among the other wild creatures. Years later, the boy and the carnivore habitat are all but forgotten.
Up to that point B’tay’s work was as an observer of the habitats, but in the future they are considered failed experiments and missed opportunities by his superiors. He pleads for permission to continue to work autonomously, but the military general informs him that they will be taking over. When the soldiers re-enter the carnivore habitat at the general’s orders, they encounter Helpless, now an adult and flanked by two wolves, seemingly not happy with the Operators.
All Against All is sci-fi, with a big emphasis on the “science”. While the concept of this story is somewhat confusing, Paknadel’s writing is strong enough to compensate. The artwork by Wjingaard is really the star here, with an iconic cover and striking colors. He amazingly renders these alien figures, beasts, and habitats. The story is compelling enough that I’ll likely be reading on, if not just to see Helpless tear the Operators apart.
3 out of 5 daggers
