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So, this time i’m focusing on the recent spate of titles from DC’s Vertigo imprint. As always, these are spoiler-free capsule reviews! As always, you can see all my past capsule reviews here: #newcomics. Just as a preface, this recent burst of titles has been interesting. It feels like Vertigo wants to reclaim some of its former glory as THE place to find interesting, creator-owned books. A title that Image handily stole away. Let’s see if these books have what it takes…
The Twilight Children #1-3 – This title comes from a powerhouse duo of Gilbert Hernandez and Darwyn Cooke. The result is a book that’s gorgeous to look at, and certainly intrigues. But… there’s only one more issue left. And I have to say, it’s a LITTLE hard to feel much of any connection to any of the characters so far. And the events are so strange and mystifying that it all feels a little scattered. I’m hoping everything comes together for issue 4… but 4 issues just doesn’t seem like it could possibly be long enough to satisfactorily wrap up the story. I hope to be proven wrong. That being said, unless some major stuff goes down in issue 4, I kind of feel like the story will end up being pleasant but not necessarily memorable. But, hey, a lot can happen in one issue.
Clean Room #1-2 – Next up is the title that I think could have the most potential of all of these. From Gail Simone and Jon-Davis Hunt, the story starts out with a reporter investigating (for very personal reasons) a Scientology-like cult. But, things get MUCH weirder from there. Especially in issue 2. I really don’t even want to say much at all, except that the writing is exceptional. The characters come to life right away, and the art is really pleasing to the eye. I’m really excited about seeing where this one goes.
Art Ops #1-2 – I actually didn’t pre-order this one at first, but I was so intrigued by the cover and I’ve loved Michael Allred’s work in the past. I wasn’t really familiar with the writer. But, the premise is fascinating and allows for a LOT of fun moments. I mean, there’s really nothing quite like this book out there on the market at the moment that I can think of, and the characters are pretty well sketched out right from the beginning.
Red Thorn #1 – I don’t have quite as much to judge this one on, but it has a little bit in common with Art Ops as far as one plot point. But where it goes from there is very, very different. I was intrigued enough by the first issue to pick up the next one, though, for sure. There’s something about this book, in particular, that reminds me of Vertigo books of yore. Maybe it was the slightly more supernatural bent to it all. I’m the least familiar with the creative team behind the book of any of the books in the line-up, but the book is going to draw on Scottish mythology and I think it could be a fun, fascinating ride.
Note: I did pick up issue #1 of Unfollow, but for the life of me can’t remember ANYTHING about it now. And I can’t find the issue right at the moment. But I do remember thinking I’d pick up issue 2. So once I do that and re-read issue #1 I’ll cover it here.
