Conspiracy theorist/Scotland Yard detective is called to the Vatican to explain a mysterious death that may have supernatural connects. Sounds like a lot of fun, but is it good?
Revelations #1 (BOOM! Studios)
As far as attention is concerned everyone who picks this book up first will be doing it for Humberto Ramos’ art. The man draws clean lines and fine characters; usually a bit odd looking, but always interesting. The second wave of folks will be picking it up for the science fiction aspect, and the third probably because the cover is so pretty. I grabbed this mostly due to Ramos’ work, but hell, there’s some God stuff in there too, which makes it slightly unique. Unless of course you’re a Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons fanatic.
Setting the scene.
Let’s start with the script, written by Paul Jenkins. It does a fairly good job setting up the plot, but an even better job setting up the protagonist. The book opens with a murder at the Vatican and there’s some odd and unexplainable stuff going on. Long-time atheist and hard-edged London detective, Charlie Northern is asked to investigate from an old friend who works at the Vatican. Charlie reads conspiracy theory books and generally believes God is a lie. That makes the dynamic of him working with church folk interesting and punchy. He’s also good at his job, with some exceptional detective details that’ll make the most well read mystery enthusiast swoon. Not to give it away, but Charlie explains where items are when someone is either pushed from a window, commits suicide from said window or someone who falls accidentally.
Weird coin. Hm…macguffin?
The plot and story are still a bit confusing, but what do you expect from a mystery? You can’t give up all the details. At this juncture it’s not clear what sort of magic is going on which is slightly frustrating, but Charlie’s character is strong enough to keep things moving and shaking.
Then we have Ramos’ art, which is quite good. The colors by Leonardo Olea and Edgar Delgado should not go unnoticed. They look digital to me, similar to Clayton Crain’s work on Carnage USA, but the thatching and detail of Ramos’ pencils remains intact. That means the color looks slightly computer generated, but the integrity of Ramos work keeps things looking not too digital. My only gripe is the eyes of the characters, which are all ink black with white dots for pupils. It’s oddly evil looking, but also cartoony.
Say what?
9.5
- Ramos really can’t do wrong in my book
- Strong characters
- Overarching plot still a complete mystery
Is It Good?
Hey, we got ourselves a neat mystery book with potential supernatural goodness on the way! I’m all for strong characters in any work and this puppy has it in droves. Worth a look and worth your dime!
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