The first issue of Veil was easily at the top of my favorite comics I read last month. The part-supernatural part-mystery part-hard-boiled noir continues this month and does not disappoint. The book opens up in the same nature that the first book did: there’s just nine panels that each give you a not-so-clear glimpse at different things. For example, one is a vacancy sign at a hotel, another is a guy standing in front of a pentagram drawn on the floor, and one is a stack of pancakes. They all allude to various happenings in the book, but I feel like there’s a more significant importance that I can’t quite put my finger on. Due to the events toward the end of the debut issue, Dante is trying to get Veil out of the apartment and away from the cops. As they’re walking down an alley, a dumpster stands in their way of escaping further. Dante is flustered, but Veil just looks at the dumpster and it moves out of their way.
They go to a diner and plan to sit there for a while in hopes that the cops won’t suspect them of anything and the whole situation will blow over. Dante doesn’t see Veil as much of an innocent woman anymore which is demonstrated by his perplexed, almost furious questions like “what are you?” It’s pretty clear at this point that Veil is either a supernatural being or a human that has been taken over by some supernatural consequences. The rats definitely have and will be playing a part in this whole mystery as one is shown with Veil on multiple occasions throughout this book; what role they play is a mystery at this point too though.
The book then adds some more mystique to the overall story as we’re introduced to Cormac and Scarborough. Scarborough seems to be a seedy businessman with a thing for the occult, and Cormac has promised him a service which included sacrificing five lives for the 5 elements of the pentagram. The promise of power was mentioned, so perhaps Scarborough would benefit from some supernatural abilities had this all worked out. Scarborough thinks that Cormac has failed him and there has been no results from the sacrifices. He calls Cormac a charlatan and a fraud, and has one of his associates ready to shoot Cormac. Cormac assures Scarborough that he isn’t lying and there are issues of time and space to consider. I guarantee nobody sees what happens next, and I don’t want to spoil any more of the book than that.
Again, I can’t talk enough about how much I love the art in this book. It fits the story perfectly with a lot of dark tones and shading, but also has hues of purple, green, and red when the more mysterious events pop up. What the artist chooses to show in the book really compliment with the cryptic nature of the writing as well. We’re not spoon-fed anything in this book for sure, and the same goes with the art. That said, there’s little ‘Easter eggs’ if you will. For example, when Dante and Veil are running down an alley after Veil moves the dumpster, we see the rat poking out of Veil’s shirt with a crazed look in its eyes. There’s a lot I left out in my synopsis of the book, so I highly recommend you go out and buy this issue to find out what happens for yourself.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Greg Rucka Artist: Toni Fejzula Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 4/2/14 Format: Mini-Series – Print/Digital