After really enjoying the last issue of Vescell I decided to continue on with the series. This newest issue isn’t quite as great, but it’s damn close and still a very good read that has continued my interest in the series. Mission Accomplished for the creative team! That is their goal after all to hook new readers on the series so that sales increase and they can work on the book more. Well it worked, I bought the last issue (the cover helped) and I will pick up this issue as well. I love it when comics attempt something new and this issue breaks from the three act structure that basically every comic follows and most should always stick to. You can tell when a writer is creating out of their ass when the structure is broken, but with Vescell it works. It’s essentially split into two, but what’s clever is that each half has a loose three act structure to it. I was actually surprised when the story started the next chapter of the book because I thought it was done.
The first half is about Machi aka Shortwings coming out of her cocoon. Mauricio our main character prepares for her arrival and it’s a great moment that shows his compassion and care. The characters share some banter and then they break into Machi’s experiences within the cocoon. She was transported to her home which is another dimension, but it’s under attack due to the scales of good and evil being tipped to far one way. She learns a life lesson from Mauricio’s mother and grows her new wings.
The second story is strange, highly sexual and ridiculously funny at the same time. The gist is that a cyborg, Batan is on a case for Cybercan that involves the death of several of their employees and the gathering of the employee’s brain data. That’s my wording by the way; it was the easiest way to describe it. Batan uses his gay lover as bait for the ripper (dual meaning), but doesn’t know that Mauricio has been hired to find the same man on behalf of Vescell. The two groups run into each other and more hilarity ensues… but the tale ends very somberly.
The story wasn’t as balls to the wall as the last issue, but it was fun and tried something different. More importantly, it worked. This issue gives the reader the perfect chance to get to know the characters and find out what they’re going to be up against in the future. I hope that there is a similar issue in the future that reiterates the different plot lines of the story since being a new reader I’m still a bit in the dark. In general though, the writing was very good and even though the characters all tend to share the same tone, they’re still very unique with their own quirks and dialog mannerisms.
There are a lot of… stereotypes that are reinforced in this series, but I don’t think it’s done in an offensive way. Hell, I could be wrong. All I know is that it didn’t offend me and gave the book a very mature tone and attitude. Enrique Carrion has created an ambitious world and populated it with characters that are unique and as ambitious as the world. It’s fun in a mature well. It’s clear that this story will not be censored or controlled if it doesn’t make sense to the plot and I like that. Frankly, everything is pretty much face value and sometimes it’s nice to have a book like that.
It might be the sixth issue, but if you’re like me and new to the series this isn’t a bad place to start. Like I said you really get to know the cast of characters and they’re settled in to their roles in the story. Sure you may be in the dark on a few details like me, but unless you’re going to track down all of the other issues and fall behind even further… you’ve got to start somewhere. A good read with a dose of maturity that is simply fun.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Enrique Carrion Artist: John Roc Upchurch Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 2/29/2012