With A Pedigree Like This, It Has To Be Great

Velvet 1
Image Comics
Ed Brubaker, writer
Steve Epting, artist

I tend to be more of a story fan; be it comics or prose, if the writing is good, I'm in. I confess, I haven't read everything by Ed Brubaker, and I have read a few titles by him I haven't cared for as much as others. But for the most part, if he wrote it and I didn't buy it, it was because the subject matter didn't grab me more than anything else. Brubaker has had some fantastic runs on some titles I've really enjoyed, titles like Batman, Daredevil, Gotham Central, Scene of the Crime, and Criminal. His writing is full of rich characters he makes come alive with his talent for dialogue, and Brubaker has a knack for making his characters feel like real people. They don't always do what you want them to do, but you can believe that they would act as he portrays them.

Just because I tend to notice writing credits more doesn't mean I ignore art credits. There are a number of comics artists that I very much like and whose name on a project is a definite plus. As with Brubaker, I haven't read every single book Steve Epting has worked on, but I have enjoyed very much the ones I have read. I first became aware of Epting's name during his all-too-short collaboration with Dan Jurgens on Aquaman in 1999-2000. Epting's art next caught my eye when he moved to CrossGen and supplied the art for Crux and El Cazador. Epting just has a crisp, realistic art style I appreciate. His figures are dynamic, and his panel layout is clear and easy to follow.

These two creators came together in 2005 to relaunch Captain America for Marvel Comics. I like superhero comics, so I mean no disrespect when I say that their run on Captain America didn't feel like a superhero comic -- it felt superior. They took Cap's association with S.H.I.E.L.D. and made the title an espionage book. It wasn't straight-forward spy versus spy, but damn close. Both the writing and the art combined to give the book a cinematic feel. That mixed with the high adventure; the human drama of re-inroducing Cap's former partner, Bucky Barnes; the simple decision to have Steve Rogers appear without his Cap costume so much of the time alongside former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and girlfriend Sharon Carter all worked to make this feel like a very real drama playing out on a worldwide scale.

More of the same is what I hoped for when I first heard of Velvet, the new Image title by this same creative team. And that is what we are getting, judging by this debut issue.

Velvet Templeton is the secretary/head assistant for the head of a secret British spy organization. Think Miss Moneypenny from the James Bond franchise. Only Velvet is so much more, as she so skillfully demonstrates when several of the organization's top agents are killed.

It seems that Velvet was herself the super-spy in previous decades before being assigned to a desk job. But just because she is currently riding a desk doesn't mean this lady can no longer cut it in the field. She begins by conducting her own investigation into the first murder, that of Jefferson Keller, Agent X-14. Before long, Velvet finds other dead agents and is framed for the murders. And all of this is in just the first issue!

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating the holiday! See you again, Friday!!