If you’re looking for a new espionage comic series with super-powered agents, The Vigil might be right up your alley. Written by Ram V, the series kicks off today with a story that continues from Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution #1. You can expect double crosses, secrets, twists, and a group of agents with very particular powers for very specific jobs. Also, expect an exciting start that’ll likely hook you and make you want more.
The Vigil #1 opens with pirates boarding a freighter. This event permeates the entire issue as we get updates via radio, surveillance, and eventually, the main conflict as the book dances along, introducing key characters. That gives the book a sense of immediacy and danger while the spies and agents all act quite naturally.
This issue gets a lot done economically, moving from an agent’s retirement to the Vigil’s introduction to that agent. We get to see the head of the group get grilled by politicians and the agents in action. Ram V and Lalit Kumar Sharma maximize every page and deliver the intrigue good espionage is after. There’s even a callback joke on the last page and the introduction of the main villain. With so many characters and the general idea of The Vigil introduced, it’s not by any means wall-to-wall action. Instead, learning these characters’ machinations and roles is the real meat of the issue.
Meeting on a park bench is spy stuff 101.
Credit: DC Comics
One gripe with this first issue is the protagonist Ms. Saha, who is the audience surrogate. She’s not very interesting and mostly listens to others talk to her. She gets little to do beyond taking things in, so it’s early yet and it’s not yet clear what she brings to the story.
When action pops off, though, it’s entertaining. Instead of detailing what the agents in the field have for powers, we get to see them in the field. That adds a sense of mystery to their actions and danger as we wonder how two Vigil agents can take on 18 pirates.
Thankfully these characters have interesting power sets for an espionage crew but aren’t so powerful they can move planets. These powers are a level above regular human abilities, so they’re also cool and suit the story. Based on the cover it seems we’re not introduced to every spy just yet, but the ones we do get to meet have cool costumes and a silent-but-deadly vibe.
The art has a good sense of realism from detailed environments to details in the clothing and finer details. When it’s time for powers the speedster on the team, looks pretty cool with neat motion blur effects. Some panels can look a bit uninteresting–the scene with the politicians shutting down the Vigil for instance–but for the most part the realism is present which grounds things nicely.
Less James Bond and more Argo, The Vigil grabs you at the start and gets espionage lovers’ hearts racing where it counts. Spy lovers, The Vigil has it all from plot twists, cliffhangers, foreshadowing, and red herrings. Buckle up as there’s a new spy drama worth investing in.
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