I read this issue because I was on a plane otherwise I’m not sure I would have picked it up on a whim. The first issue left a sour taste in my mouth and I never felt the need to go back to the series. That being said I was surprised by this book… a lot. Let’s start with the cover of the dapper looking man and the blonde bombshell getting all close. Now look if you look at just the top half she’s reaching down towards his… gun, which is clever since she’s holding one. This entire cover is very well constructed and one of the best of the year already. The design choices are very smart and I wouldn’t be surprised if this cover makes in on someone’s "list of stuff." The story is about a series of murders in which blonde woman are being murdered around the city and the back of their necks are being cut open. There are three divisions of what I can only guess is authority in the city and Lieutenant Vega is part of the Paranormal Authority Agency. She’s not on this case since the corrupt local cop is ruling it as a normal homicide, but she thinks there is more going on. She consults Agent Barrino (the dapper man on the cover) about the case and soon enough he’s locked into a classic, “everyone is hiring me to find the same person gig.”

The catch that makes the story interesting (SPOILER) is that the woman contains the soul of Hitler. This book takes place in some alternate timeline when Hitler hasn’t been removed from the picture for that long. There’s some great dialog from the blonde containing his soul and really the sequence of events from beginning to end are very interesting.

I was really taken in by this book and the world it created, it was much better than I remember the first issue being. I liked the meshing of the futuristic world with the new races of humans (Lieutenant Vega). Also the stance on sexual partners and relationships was well done and didn’t come off like the main character just being a man-whore. He's in a committed relationship with a woman he loves, but he can also get busy and freaky with another partner. It worked in context of the story and didn’t distract from it either. The art is fantastic. I remember enjoying it a lot before, but the story wasn’t strong enough for me to just tolerate it with the art. John “Roc” Upchurch has the perfect style for the world and great character designs. Everything is clean and sharp and gives the book the right look and feel.

This book surprised me a lot with a good story, the right amount of sex and stunning art. The best part is that it’s actually a standalone issue and though you don’t get a great recap of the world and characters relationships, it’s enough to get you to the next issue. Personally I’ll be checking out the previous issues as well to see if I’ve been missing something good and actually look forward to the next month’s issue was well.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Enrique Carrion Artist: John Upchurch Publisher: Image Comics/ Price: $2.99 Release Date: 1/4/12