(W) Garth Ennis (A) Jacen Burrows
Written by Ennis, Art by Burrows, Covers by Declan Shalvey, Horror Genre and published by AWA studios. Sometimes you just read the previews book and it’s like a title is aimed squarely at you. And this is up there with the best #1’s of the year for me.
What we have here is a title featuring police corruption, ancient powers that are bigger than all of us, and a great mystery story to boot. We follow Detective Amy Sun, a clean cop in a corrupt precinct who is not afraid to expose those who think they are above the law. It makes her about as popular within the Precinct as you might expect. But as she investigates corrupt cops, she follows some breadcrumbs that lead her into the world of the supernatural, and ancient evil that has awoken to punish the guilty.
Ennis is no stranger to either the cop genre or the supernatural, so of course he is a master at marrying the two together and creating a suspenseful tale that keeps you turning the page. He has created a great cast of characters here, some good, some bad, but all adding something different to the story. And he knows how to pace and execute a good scare though page turns and suspenseful moments.
Jacen Burrows is a long time collaborator of Ennis so you know their styles are going to mesh together perfectly. Burrows has a clean style, that results in great looking characters in the real world, but also reflecting that something evil lurks underneath. His style is further elevated by Dan Brown on colours, who sets a different mood on almost every single page. This is a creative team with a level of craftmanship that is to be admired, and they are firing on all cylinders here.
What’s really interesting as well is that Ennis is writing something deeper than it first appears. There are ideas of revenge and retribution throughout the book, but how far is too far? If something supernatural occurs and punishes the guilty, do even they deserve the level of violence they receive?
There is one cop in the book who became obsessed with a survivor from a murder scene. He would follow her everywhere, and try to force himself upon her, or get her to thank him all the time for saving her (even though he didn’t really). Suffice to say he does not get on with Detective Sun, and is clearly unhinged. But does he deserve what happens to him in the book? Is his punishment too extreme? Are we complicit in wishing harm on this character, only to then be repulsed by what happens to him? There’s some interesting ethical questions being raised here.
It’s always a great feat for any book to hook you instantly, and for the world they create to feel lived in and a bit grimy and dirty, but that is what Ennis and Burrows have created here. The writing is strong, the world building is great and the comics looks amazing. This is one that will stay with you for some time, and once again, AWA have presented us with another great title.